The MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse: Crimes of Occasion, Desperation, and
Predation Against America’s Elders further illuminates the widening problem of
elder financial abuse in the US.

Key Findings
• The annual financial loss by victims of elder financial abuse is estimated to be at
least $2.9 billion dollars, a 12% increase from the $2.6 billion estimated in 2008.

• Instances of fraud perpetrated by strangers comprised 51% of the articles.
Reports of elder financial abuse by family, friends, and neighbors came in
second, with 34% of the news articles followed by reports of exploitation
within the business sector (12%) and Medicare and Medicaid fraud (4%).

• Medicare and Medicaid fraud resulted in the highest average loss to victims
($38,263,136) followed by fraud by business and industry ($6,219,496), family,
friends, and neighbors ($145,768), and fraud by strangers ($95,156).

• Women were nearly twice as likely to be victims of elder financial abuse as
men. Most victims were between the ages of 80 and 89, lived alone, and
required some level of help with either health care or home maintenance.
In almost all of the cases, there existed a combination of tenuous, valued
independence and observable vulnerability that merged in the lives of victims
to optimize opportunities for abuse by every type of perpetrator — from the
closest family members to professional criminals.

• Nearly 60% of perpetrators were males. Most male perpetrators were between
the ages of 30 and 59, while most of the female perpetrators were between the
ages of 30 and 49. Perpetrators who were strangers often targeted victims with
visible vulnerabilities (e.g., limited mobility, displays of confusion, or living alone).

• The number of news articles increased and the character of elder financial
abuse changed during the holidays. From November 2010 through January
2011, of the 1,128 articles on elder abuse identified through the newsfeeds,
354 (31%) concerned elder financial abuse. At least one-quarter (27%) of the
cases reported were random, predominantly single-event crimes accounting
for relatively small monetary rewards and characterized by a high level of
brutality and disregard for human life. Reports of elder financial abuse perpetrated
by strangers and by friends and families were very similar (47% vs.
45%, respectively).

• Dollar losses over the holidays due to family, friend, and neighbor perpetrators
were overall higher than any other category, likely owing to sheer numbers of
instances, although the average number of dollars lost per individual instance
was highest from business perpetrators. It is remarkable that the number of
stranger cases comprise nearly 50% of all the holiday cases, comparable to the
51% April to June incidence rate.

• In almost all instances reported in the newsfeeds, the goals of financial
abuse perpetrators were achieved through deceit, threats, and emotional
manipulation of the elder. In addition, physical and sexual violence frequently
occurred within the vortex of elemental greed and disregard for the victim
that surrounded financial abuse.

• New research indicates that the instances of elder financial abuse are far
higher than previously reported. In particular, a national study of 5,776 older
adults found that the one-year prevalence for financial abuse by a family
member was 5%.1 Further, a recent prevalence study covering the state of
New York revealed that the highest rate of any type of elder mistreatment
was financial abuse, with a rate of 41 per 1,000 (4%).

The full report is available at the following link: The MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse (US)