FTC and DOJ Reports on Elder Fraud

The FTC and the DOJ released reports to Congress about their efforts to address elder fraud and abuse yesterday (10/18/23).

FTC Press Release and Report

• [T]he report calls on Congress to update the FTC Act in response to the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling in the AMG Capital Management case, which severely limited the FTC’s ability to recover money that older adults and other consumers lose to scammers.
• The report also finds that in 2022, older adults reported significantly higher losses to investment scams, business impersonation scams and government impersonation scams than they did in 2021:

DOJ Press Release and Report

• “During the reporting period, the Department brought nearly 300 criminal and civil actions against more than 650 defendants who collectively stole more than $1.5 billion from over 2.4 million victims.”
• “The Department also funded the first National Center for State and Tribal Elder Justice Coalitions to support statewide coordination and collaboration among elder justice organizations, and developed and shared new resources, training, and tools for state and local law enforcement to more effectively identify and investigate elder abuse and fraud.”