The Department of Justice (DOJ) has submitted their Annual Report to Congress on its work to Combat Elder Fraud and Abuse. The report that was submitted summarizes the DOJ’s elder justice efforts from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021.
The report states that the DOJ brought over 220 criminal and civil enforcement actions, which covered more than 20 types of fraud that targeted or disproportionately affected older Americans. Interrupting fraud schemes before they are reach older Americans can be instrumental in the fight against elder fraud. The fraud types included:
- Tech support scams
- Veteran scams
- Fraud perpetrated by guardians and powers of attorney
- Stopping overseas internet calling services that facilitate fraudulent robocalls
The report highlights the different methods the DOJ provides for victim support of older Americans. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Recovery Asset Team was able to work with financial institutions to freeze over $13.5 million dollars among older victims of fraud before those monies were wired and lost by the victims. The freezing of the $13.5 million was a 75% success rate for those types of crimes.
In the past year the DOJ invested in training and tools to ensure federal, state, and local elder justice professionals are ready to hold offenders accountable, while ensuring victims receive the services that they need. The DOJ supported the development of online elder abuse training for law enforcement, which upon completion enables law enforcement officers to receive Peace Officer Standards and Training credit in 35 states.
Additionally, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released the first 2020 Elder Fraud Report providing information which can be useful for targeting interventions. The report found that more than 100,000 persons over the age of 60 filed a complaint, with a resulting loss of nearly $1 billion. The greatest financial losses were found to be associated with confidence fraud/romance scams.
To report financial fraud, call the National Elder Fraud Hotline, 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). More information on the DOJ’s elder justice activities can be accessed here.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
An effective compliance and ethics program can prevent or reduce incidents of fraud, waste, and abuse of government funds. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires skilled nursing facilities to have a compliance and ethics program that is effective in preventing and detecting criminal, civil, and administrative violations under the Social Security Act, and in promoting quality of care. Routine audits should be conducted of the facility’s monetary transactions, and the results of the audits should be reported to the compliance and ethics committee and to the governing body. The audits should result in implementation of a corrective action plan if any discrepancies are found, and the identified discrepancies should be fully investigated and rectified immediately. Additional information is available in the Med-Net Corporate Compliance and Ethics Manual, Chapter 1, Compliance and Ethics Program.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures for operating an effective Compliance and Ethics Program. Ensure that your policies are reviewed at least annually and updated when new information becomes available.
- Train all staff on your compliance and ethics policies and procedures upon hire and at least annually thereafter. Document that these trainings occurred and file the signed document in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically perform audits to ensure all staff are aware of compliance and ethics requirements and understand their responsibility to report any concerns of violations to their supervisor, the compliance officer, or via the anonymous hotline.
