Nick Barthel, Esq. was recently published in the November 2023 issue of Plaintiff Magazine with an article titled, “Grandma Got Done Over By A Fraudster.” In this article, Barthel writes about federal and state laws that may help victims of elder fraud recover from financial institutions and credit-reporting agencies. Namely, he goes over the California Identity Theft Law, Civil Code section 1798; the Fair Credit Billing Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1666, et seq.; and the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1643.
Unfortunately, Barthel notes that the elderly community has been the main target for fraudsters in recent years; with the Federal Bureau of Investigation reporting such targeting to increase by 84 percent between 2021 and 2022. With this, Barthel offers potential remedies for instances where a fraudster steals an elder’s money via wire transfer or an electronic funds transfer; a fraudster obtains access to an elder’s open lines of credit; a fraudster induces an elder to send money; etc. He states that with the federal and state laws in place, an elder may be entitled to actual damages, injunctive relief, and statutory damages, along with attorney’s fees and costs.
To read the full article, simply click here.
