Linter (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A 53-year-old resident of Linter received an acquittal for charging fraud against a 90-year-old woman after he stole €125,000 from her bank accounts through caregiver fronts.
Law authorities acquitted a 53-year-old Linter resident for financial crimes involving an elderly 90-year-old victim. During the trial, the defendant stood trial for transferring €125,000 from the elderly victim’s accounts to his own bank account after he initially promised assistance due to the hospitalisation of her partner. The prosecutors alleged that the defendant exploited the situation by raising his compensation price from €20 to €100, which resulted in major financial abuse against the elderly victim.
The prosecution showed evidence of bank card access and many unauthorised transactions where he spent large amounts on shopping and home maintenance services. The prosecutor emphasised that the defendant’s actions were not merely a matter of caregiving but rather a calculated scheme to exploit the woman’s vulnerability.
The defence team argued before the court that every financial transfer amounted to gift money because the elderly woman understood what she was doing. The defence team showed how the woman kept control over her financial matters even though she was elderly.
The defence presented an image of the elderly woman as able to make independent decisions instead of perpetually helpless because she refused to accept victim status as defined by prosecution evidence. The defence stated,
“Madam is portrayed as an old lady, but she is still clear enough in mind,”
aiming to establish that she had the cognitive ability to make informed choices regarding her finances.
What are the trends in elderly financial exploitation?
The global concern about the financial exploitation of senior citizens rises due to documented incidents where caregivers harm elderly people. In 2018, older adults lost more than $184 million in the United States through romance and fraud scams.
Belgian courts recently convicted eight men who obtained €204,386 from senior citizens through fraudulent schemes that continue to victimise elderly persons in the country. Scam artists who imitated bank representatives stole large sums of money from unsuspecting seniors throughout the Schelde-Leie region.
