CU staff's suspicions, trial spotlight elder abuse issues
ANTIOCH, Calif. (4/2/07)--Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citibank failed to notice the draining of bank accounts containing an 83-year-old Antioch, Calif., man's life savings. However, employees at Antioch Schools FCU noticed--and they did something about it.
Staff became suspicious when Joe Whittaker, who has dementia and lived alone, started arriving with a caretaker, Joe Gonzalez, and withdrawing funds, according to Contra Costa Times (March 4).
In 2005, withdrawals nearly wiped out Whittaker's accounts, which went from $382,000 to $46,000 in one year. A living trust, will and annuity also were presented with Gonzalez as the beneficiary.
Authorities credit the staff of the credit union, a $26 million asset credit union working out of a double-wide trailer, for triggering an investigation that led to Gonzalez's arrest on charges of elderly financial abuse.
Antioch Schools FCU President Rob Greaff told the newspaper that staff noticed Whittaker had barely touched his account in 50 years. Alarm bells went off when Whittaker arrived one day to withdraw funds and found the money gone, transferred for an annuity that benefited Gonzalez.
The staff started investigating, making phone calls and researching the circumstances Whittaker was in. Greaff told the annuity company he suspected Whittaker was an elder financial abuse victim and the company returned the $23,000. On the day the money returned, Whittaker arrived to withdraw $2,000 and was persuaded to take out less than he wanted.
Instead, the credit union staff called Adult Protective Services, which resulted in the assignment of a conservator for Whittaker, a police investigation, and the arrest of Gonzalez. Authorities are also pursuing a case against an insurance agent who helped coordinate Whittaker's annuity.
The case is spotlighted in California, which recently passed a law requiring credit unions and banks to report incidents of suspected elderly abuse.
Gonzalez pleaded no contest Feb. 6 to various charges, including eight counts of non-caretaker grand theft from an elder adult and four counts of attempted theft. Whittaker is now living in an assisted living facility and his house is up for sale.
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