Delaware to host police training in effort to curb financial exploitation of senior citizens

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Matt Denn

 The Delaware Department of Justice Consumer Protection Unit has been selected as one of eight jurisdictions around the country to host a training for law enforcement on preventing, investigating and prosecuting financial exploitation of senior citizens.

The training, put on by the National White Collar Crime Center and the United States Department of Justice, will allow for 100 area law enforcement officers to learn effective ways to respond to complex elder fraud cases. The training is expected to be held in Wilmington in April 2018.

“A primary goal of the Delaware Department of Justice is to protect Delawareans from harm, and seniors are one of our most valuable yet most vulnerable populations,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “Those who prey on the elderly need to be caught and punished for their crimes, so I’m honored and proud that we have been selected to provide local law enforcement with this opportunity. I want to thank and congratulate Deputy Attorney General Gina Schoenberg, head of our office’s Senior Protection Initiative, and Chief Special Investigator Alan Rachko for their work on the application and identifying the proper mix of officers to participate.”

In addition to Delaware, other jurisdictions selected by USDOJ for the training are: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Denmark, Tennessee; Topeka, Kansas; Hidalgo County, Texas; Columbia, South Carolina; Ada, Oklahoma; and King County, Washington.

National studies conclude that nearly 10 percent of older Americans have experienced some form of financial exploitation or fraud in the past year at a financial loss estimated in the billions of dollars, with some experts asserting that financial exploitation is the most common form of elder abuse.

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