With the enactment of SB 1018 (Simitian), which requires all bank employees to report all suspected cases of elder financial abuse going into effect today, the California Bankers Association has compiled a list of tips to help consumers be more vigilant in keeping seniors safe.

"More and more, California's seniors have become the targets of unscrupulous fraudsters who want nothing more than to part seniors from their hard-earned money," said CBA president and CEO Janet W. Lamkin. "While law enforcement, along with California's financial institutions, work hard to make sure that suspected cases of elder financial abuse are reported and investigated, we want to remind all Californians that we all have a role to play in keeping our seniors safe."

Elder financial abuse is a somewhat unique crime in that, oftentimes, it is a member of the family, close friend or caregiver who ends up perpetrating the crime, making it that much more difficult to detect.

CBA encourages all Californians to look out for these common elder financial abuse schemes:

- Misappropriation of income or assets - Fraudster obtains access to an elder's Social Security checks, pension payments, checking or savings account, credit card or ATM, or withholds portions of checks cashed for an elder.

- Charging excessive rent or fees for service - Perpetrator charges an elder an excessive rent or unreasonable fees for basic care services such as transportation, food, or medicine.

- Obtaining money or property by undue influence, misrepresentation, or fraud - Perpetrator coerces an elder into signing over investments, real estate or other assets through the use of manipulation, intimidation or threats.

- Pigeon drop - Perpetrator claims to have found a sum of money and offers to split it with an elder provided the elder first withdraws an amount equal to his or her share as a sign of good faith.

- Fake accident ploy - Perpetrator convinces an elder that the elder's child has been seriously injured or is in jail and needs money for medical treatment or bail.

- Telemarketing and mail fraud - Perpetrator persuades an elder to buy a valueless or nonexistent product, donate to a bogus charity or invest in a fictitious enterprise.

- Fake prizes - Perpetrator tells an elder that he or she has won a nonexistent prize and either asks the elder to send a check to pay the taxes on this nonexistent prize or obtains the elder's credit card or checking account number to pay for shipping and handling charges for the prize.

- Unsolicited work - Perpetrator arrives unexpectedly at an elder's residence and offers to perform work for a reasonable fee; after starting the work, the perpetrator insists that the elder pay more than originally agreed before the work will be completed.

CBA reminds all Californians that if they believe that a senior they know and care about is being targeted with one of these fraud schemes, they should contact their county's Adult Protective Services agency immediately and report it.

Information about CBA

Established more than 110 years ago, the California Bankers Association (CBA) is one of the largest state banking trade associations in the country. CBA leads the way in developing relevant educational and legislative solutions to some of California's more pressing financial and banking issues, including adult financial empowerment, identity theft, financial privacy, and financial elder abuse. CBA's membership includes more than 300 of California's commercial, industrial and community banks and savings associations.

Stuart D. Zimring is an eloquent spokesperson for the elderly, an important - indeed, vital - segment of society. He is a good commentator concerning this story in the Associated Press (ap.org) about how the trustees for the government's two biggest benefit programs said Monday that the trust fund for Social Security will be depleted in 2040, a year earlier than expected, while Medicare will exhaust its trust fund just 12 years from now. This is harrowing news. We must not abandon the weak, sick or old. Like Stuart Zimring, we must summon the great reservoir of morality to help a worthy people: the elderly. Let us accept this challenge.

Stuart D. Zimring is a true defender of the elderly. And few things are as important for older Americans than good healthcare. In a March 15th story in the Associated Press (ap.org) Jeff Donn writes about how startling research from the biggest study ever of U.S. health care quality suggests that Americans — rich, poor, black, white — get roughly equal treatment, but it's woefully mediocre for all. "This study shows that health care has equal-opportunity defects," said Dr. Donald Berwick, who runs the nonprofit Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, Mass. Why is the richest and most powerful nation in history unable - or unwilling - to properly deliver decent medical services to those who need it? We need to fix this crisis before it gets even worse.

Stuart D. Zimring has a strong command of the various laws that directly impact the elderly. I immediately thought of him while reading a series of wire stories about how Tennessee voters will decide in November whether property tax increases for elderly homeowners should be halted when they turn 65. The Tennessee House voted 95-to-1 Thursday to allow voters to consider a constitutional amendment on the issue. The Senate unanimously approved the proposal last month. I think it's important to make sure that our most vulnerable citizens are not overwhelmed by huge tax increases and other financially devastating actions. This ballot initiative sounds like a good idea.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Sarasota County, Fla. alleging housing discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, in Tampa, alleges that the county refused to allow Renaissance Manor Inc., to operate six homes for individuals with mental illness and a history of substance abuse. The homes are intended to provide a supportive environment for residents, but are otherwise similar to other houses in the county inhabited by residents sharing living space and common facilities. According to the government's complaint, the homes at issue are permitted to operate as a matter of right under the county's zoning code, but the county determined that the homes violated the code because of the residents' disabilities. The complaint also alleges that the county retaliated against Renaissance Manor by refusing to release grant funds it had been previously awarded to it.

"The residents of these homes should not be refused an equal opportunity for housing in their community," said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department is committed to preventing such housing discrimination against people with disabilities."

The suit seeks monetary damages to compensate the victims, civil penalties, and a court order barring future discrimination.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. Since January 1, 2001, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has filed 197 cases to enforce the Fair Housing Act, including 94 based on disability discrimination.

The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) and contractor Scarsella Brothers, Inc. have agreed to pay $895,000 for violations of the Clean Water Act during the construction of the Bellgrove-Mica realignment of Highway 95 near Lake Coeur d'Alene in Northern Idaho, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

Today's settlement concludes a lawsuit which began in 2004, alleging that ITD and Scarsella Brothers failed to provide adequate storm water controls for a large highway project that later deposited many tons of sediment in Mica Creek, which flows into Mica Bay in Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Under the terms of the consent decrees, lodged today in the federal district court in Boise, Idaho, ITD will pay a penalty of $495,000 and Scarsella Brothers will pay a $400,000 civil penalty. As part of the settlement, ITD and Scarsella Brothers also have agreed to send their engineers and environmental inspectors to a certified storm water management training, and ITD has agreed to implement new construction management practices to help avoid future violations of the storm water regulations.

"The Idaho Transportation Department and Scarsella Brothers Construction Company failed to follow known best management practices and their actions had a significant impact on the receiving waters and on the Mica Bay portion of Lake Coeur d'Alene," said Assistant Attorney General Sue Ellen Wooldridge of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "We are committed to enforcing environmental laws and to seeing that violators undertake the actions necessary to comply with storm water regulations in the future."

"Runoff from construction sites is a major contributor to water quality impairment in the U.S. The EPA is aggressively enforcing federal regulations to help control this problem," said Granta Y. Nakayama, EPA's Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "This settlement will result in improved water quality and is a signal of the Agency's commitment to enforcement of our nation's environmental laws and regulations."

In a related action brought in state court, Scarsella will pay half a million dollars to the Mica Bay Homeowners Association to settle claims for property damage allegedly caused by sediment discharges from the site. The Association intends to use the money for environmental improvement projects in the Mica Bay watershed.

The penalty in these two cases is the largest EPA Region 10 has imposed thus far as part of its regional storm water compliance initiative. Although the initiative began in 2001 with several years of intensive outreach, including workshops, mailers, and an expanded website, it was not until 2005, after EPA stepped up its inspection and enforcement efforts, that the region saw a dramatic increase in compliance rates.

Between June 2004 and April 2005, the number of construction site operators in Idaho signed up for the Construction General Permit rose 112 percent. EPA inspectors have also noted that construction site operators are increasingly in compliance with the permit's requirements to design, install, and maintain storm water controls to prevent common construction site pollutants such as sediment, petroleum products, and concrete washout from discharging into nearby waterways. Since the initiative began, EPA has brought cases against more than 100 operators.