BCSO joining in fight against elder fraud
Deputies will be tasked with reporting red flags during contacts with the elderly
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office is training to be the eyes and ears for seniors — including those under guardianships and conservatorships — who might be victims of elder fraud.
The new program, nearly two years in the making, is also teaming up with the district courts in Bernalillo County to report back to judges instances in which deputies have noticed possible financial exploitation of incapacitated adults by their courtappointed guardians or conservators.
In the past, deputies might have considered elder financial exploitation only as a civil matter that didn’t require law enforcement.
“We have completely changed the way deputies respond to these calls in the field so that they identify it differently, so they report it differently so we get a better feel for what exactly is happening,” said sheriff’s investigator Ted Asbury on Thursday.
Elder abuse training for the more than 300 deputies and Sheriff Manuel Gonzales began Thursday.
The training, which runs through the end of May, will teach deputies what to look for while responding to a call in which a senior might be falling victim to exploitation. For instance, if a welfare check of an individual shows the senior has a guardian, yet appears to have no food in the house and the caregiver drives up in a fancy car, that raises red flags, Asbury said. There may or may not be a criminal case, but the deputy will be expected at least to write an informational report.
“When you make these observations that don’t make sense, that you think are suspicious, then you’re going to write a report,” he said.
If a guardian or conservator is involved, the deputies will then send the report to the court clerk who will pass it along to the judge who oversees the incapacitated adult’s case.
“We know that judges can’t be out there and we know that judges can’t police, and we know that the judges may never learn this (if not for the sheriff’s department involvement),” he said.
The sheriff’s department will also be available to investigate possible financial exploitation issues uncovered by judges who oversee guardianship and conservatorship cases.
“We’re not looking to generate more cases,” Asbury said, “but to be smarter about protecting these people.”
The department will also hold community meetings in Bernalillo County to alert seniors and others about financial exploitation.
“We don’t want to show up to somebody’s house who’s lost their estate,” Asbury added. “We want to prevent that.”