Did Your Broker-Dealer’s Negligence Enable Elder Financial Abuse?
Elderly Senior Sues Charles Schwab For Allegedly Failing To Protect Her From Scammers
A 91-year-old woman is suing Charles Schwab & Co., both the brokerage and the affiliated bank, in court. The plaintiff contends that Schwab allegedly did not protect her, a vulnerable person, from scammers who stole over $278K of her savings, including money that was supposed to pay for senior housing. She claims that the Schwab representatives neglected to follow Schwab’s own guidance regarding elder financial abuse and senior investors.
This nonagenarian says that she was the victim of a government impersonation scam. She claims Schwab knowingly allowed this to happen despite the red flags indicating something was amiss. Instead, the plaintiff contends, the defendants purportedly enabled the loss of her life savings through its alleged negligence, including “inadequate policies, procedures, and controls.
Potential warning signs that were allegedly ignored, and which the plaintiff points to in her lawsuit, include: unusually large and frequent transactions, significant-sized influxes of money to Schwab accounts as her non-Schwab accounts were being defrauded, and frequent money transfers between and out of her Schwab accounts. This purportedly included money being sent to companies that Schwab has allegedly admitted to knowing were associated with past scams.
In an email to ThinkAdvisor, a Schwab spokesperson talked about how the firm used its “best efforts” when it involved her family and reported the matter to law enforcement, state securities regulators, and Adult Protective Services. Schwab disagrees with the allegations in her lawsuit.
Elder Financial Abuse
Unfortunately, there are scammers who will purposely target seniors and vulnerable adults. Brokerage firms and banks are supposed to do their best to protect elderly persons from such crimes by monitoring activities in their accounts to make sure there are no red flags arising. Also, they must have the proper systems in place to prevent outside parties from defrauding these customers. Sometimes, the perpetrator of elder financial exploitation may be an unscrupulous financial advisor.
Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas Elder Financial Exploitation Loss Lawyer Teams (investorlawyers.com) represent elderly investors and their families who have been victims of financial advisor fraud or broker-dealer negligence that enabled elder financial abuse. Senior financial exploitation is a serious crime that can irrevocably alter the life of an older person who is no longer working and they depend on their life savings and other assets to sustain them. We take this problem very seriously and have even partnered with McCulloch & Miller to offer estate planning and elder law services.
Over the years, our Elder Financial Exploitation Loss Lawyer team have helped thousands of investors to collectively recoup many millions of dollars from brokerage firms and investment advisors. When you work with us, know that you will receive seasoned securities representation and personalized attention.
According to the National Council on Aging, elder financial abuse costs victims $28.3B a year. Criminal charges brought against perpetrators are separate from any claim a victim and their loved ones might pursue damages. To maximize your chances for a full recovery, it is important that you retain knowledgeable securities representation from an elder financial exploitation loss lawyer.
How To Contact Our Elder Financial Exploitation Loss Lawyer Team
Fill out this form or call our Elder Financial Exploitation Loss Lawyer team at (800) 259-9010 to set up your free, initial case assessment.