PITTSBURGH — Lottery scams are not uncommon, but they typically involve a scam artist in another country or at least another state.

What makes this latest local case unusual is that a person involved in the scam actually showed up at the victim’s house.   The 91-year-old victim answered her phone last Thursday and was told by the man on the other end that she had won a contest.  “He told me I had won a large amount of money,” the victim said.  All she had to do was get a money card from Wal-Mart worth several hundred dollars and the man would have someone deliver her prize.    “He said, ‘Now make sure you’ll be home,’” the victim said. “And I didn’t know what to think. Read more »

Every year an estimated 2.1 million older Americans are victims of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation. And that’s only part of the picture: Experts believe that for every case of elder abuse or neglect reported, as many as five cases go unreported.

Elder abuse happens, but everyone can act to protect seniors.

The Administration on Aging (AoA), an agency of the Administration for Community Living (ACL), is sponsoring the Year of Elder Abuse Prevention (YEAP) to encourage national, state, and local organizations to protect seniors and raise awareness about elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

As part of the YEAP, the AoA is pleased to provide information, tools, and resources to support partners in their efforts to raise public awareness about elder abuse and shed light on the importance of preventing, identifying, and responding to this serious, often hidden problem.

Please Protect Seniors and join us in taking a stand against elder abuse this year!

Click here to view the YEAP website.

Rita Wynegar pleaded guilty to theft by unlawful taking and forgery in October after it was determined she had stolen $240,000 from her great-aunt, Lidia C. Coito, between 2007 and 2010 through her power of attorney.  The thefts came to the attention of the authorities when the elderly woman found herself facing eviction from a personal care home for non-payment.

Michael Wynegar choked up as he told Judge Gregory M. Snyder that his wife “takes care of many, many people in her life.  “She always places herself last. She’s the rock that holds our family together.”

Senior deputy attorney general Anthony W. Forray, arguing that Wynegar’s crimes called for “significant incarceration,” said, “In this case, she placed her (Coito) last.  “There is a spunky lady sitting at (an assisted living facility) as we speak. She should never have had to worry that she may be kicked out.  “The defendant was living beyond her means. She didn’t wait for her great-aunt to die. She stole her money.”

Before handing down his sentence, Snyder said the offenses were “a breach of trust” involving a “huge amount” of money.  “I don’t want to do this,” Snyder said. “You seem like a pretty nice lady. You’ve got family here to support you. Your husband is broken-hearted.  “But this was not a spur of the moment error in judgment. This was a continuing course of conduct, stealing from a little old lady.” Read more »

Untangling the Quandary of Quality Management in Personal Care Homes
This course will focus on the basics of developing a quality management plan emphasizing its importance as a component of quality resident care. Read more »

Developing a Successful Annual Staff Training Program
This course will review the basics of adult learning principles and assist administrators in developing annual training programs that both inform and motivate staff. Read more »

Two former workers at a senior living facility in Lower Bucks County were charged Tuesday with mistreating an 83-year-old resident with Alzheimer’s, and the home has had its license revoked.

Videos show Regina Battles, 20, and Irene Rodriguez, 22, both of Philadelphia, handling the woman roughly in her room in The Arbors at Buck Run in October and November, authorities said.  “They show her being handled very roughly and being tossed on the bed,” county Assistant District Attorney Michelle Laucella said. “They show her crying.”  The videos were taken by cameras placed in the room by the woman’s relatives, who suspected possible mistreatment at the facility in Lower Southampton Township facility, Laucella said.  The woman was a resident from last December till mid-November, when she was taken to Abington Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries, Laucella said.  “There were scabs and bleeding from her feet,” she said.  The woman, whose name is being withheld, has since been placed in another nursing home. Read more »

Alice Hamilton was a 62-year-old widow suffering from terminal cancer in 2007 when she moved into a nursing home and asked her longtime Bensalem neighbor to handle her affairs.

The neighbor, Virginia Marquardt, promptly obtained power of attorney for Hamilton and started spending her money.  Marquardt, a former registered nurse, stole nearly $313,000 over the next 4 ½ years, for everything from meals at local restaurants to trips to Las Vegas and Mexico, tickets for sporting events and a comedy hypnotist to payments for real estate taxes and credit card late fees. She drained Hamilton’s IRA accounts, spent the woman’s monthly pension payments and proceeds from the sale of her house, while Hamilton’s nursing home bills mounted. Read more »

Despite long experience with the ways of the world, older people are especially vulnerable to fraud. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), up to 80% of scam victims are over 65. One explanation may lie in a brain region that serves as a built-in crook detector. Called the anterior insula, this structure—which fires up in response to the face of an unsavory character—is less active in older people, possibly making them less cagey than younger folks, a new study finds.

Both FTC and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have found that older people are easy marks due in part to their tendency to accentuate the positive. According to social neuroscientist Shelley Taylor of the University of California, Los Angeles, research backs up the idea that older people can put a positive spin on things—emotionally charged pictures, for example, and playing virtual games in which they risk the loss of money. “Older people are good at regulating their emotions, seeing things in a positive light, and not overreacting to everyday problems,” she says. But this trait may make them less wary. Read more »

The Schuylkill Elder Abuse Prevention Alliance sponsored a presentation for Marshall-Rismiller & Associates during lunch Thursday to discuss signs of possible elder abuse, where and how to report it, and community resources.

“Part of our mission is to go out and educate the public. One of the things we wanted to do is to reach out to medical professionals because you deal with our customers,” Georgene Fedoriska, executive director of the Schuylkill County Office of Senior Services and co-chair of SEAPA, said during the presentation. Read more »

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Philadelphia Police are warning residents of a frightening scam involving burglars posing as utility workers. Authorities say the latest target was an elderly couple in Bustleton.  It happened at 2 p.m. on Tuesday on the 1000 block of Chesworth Road.  Police say the posers, who were dressed as PGW workers, knocked on the door knowing exactly what to do and say. They even showed identification.

According to police, one of the men told the elderly home owner there was a water main break in the neighborhood and he needed to check his pipes. While one of the men went to the basement in order to create a distraction, police say, the second man went upstairs and took about $2,000 in cash, money the elderly couple planned to spend on their grandchildren for Christmas.  Authorities say the thieves also got away with four diamond necklaces and a firefighters ring which was a family heirloom.  Police say the suspects have been targeting the elderly and hope residents take precaution before they let anyone into their home.

This article was published on CBSPhilly.