July 25, 2009

By LAURA GRIFFITH

The Telegraph

Banking and law enforcement authorities say online financial transactions actually can be safer than in person, as long as people take the right precautions.

Without those precautions, however, a person is liable to falling victim and assuming liability.

“With the popularity of the Internet, it’s developed into a new type of identity theft that local law enforcement had never seen before,” Wells said.

Determine whether the Web site is reputable before doing business.

Swindler who stole millions from elderly and sick clients jailed

By Norrie Ross

July 31, 2009

A FRAUDSTER who stole $6 million from mainly elderly and sick victims, some of whom regarded him as a trusted friend, has been jailed.

Justice Jack Forrest told Robert Day his crimes had devastated his victims, many of whom regarded him as a friend, as he sentenced him to 11 years with an eight-year minimum term.

Justice Forrest said Day seemed impervious to the lives he destroyed.

“Your actions of deliberate dishonesty over a period of nearly 10 years have caused heartache and misery to many of your friends and clients,” the judge said.

“You must have been aware of the potential impact that it would have upon your clients, particularly those who trusted you with their life savings or substantial nest eggs.”

Day, 65, had previously pleaded guilty to a total of 182 counts relating to obtaining property by deception, obtaining a financial advantage by deception, theft and making false documents.

BY COURTNEY PERKES

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Tustin Care Center has been fined $50,000 by state health officials in the choking death of a nursing home resident.

The unidentified man died in March after choking on his lunch, according to an inspection report from the California Department of Public Health. The report says staff noticed the man had been growing weaker, but the facility still allowed him to eat regular meals on his own.

On the day of his death, the report says the man was eating soup with rice when he called for his wife, who was also a patient. The man struggled to breathe, and a nurse started the Heimlich maneuver but could not dislodge the food.

The man died later that day in a hospital. An autopsy found food completely blocking his trachea. The state report concludes that the nursing home failed to assess his ability to eat, which was a direct cause of his death.

In a call Tuesday to the nursing home, staff said the administrator was out for the day and no one else could comment.

Con Artists Targeting Obliging Older People

By CGALOFARO
Police Beat Reporter – Bristol Herald Courier

July 25, 2009

In April, an old Bristol man died penniless because Tom Cruise called three years ago to tell him he won the Jamaican lottery.

All he had to do was send $500 to clear up some paperwork and he’d get $2.5 million in return.

Then Andre Agassi called: They needed just a little bit more to get the check through customs. The man borrowed money from friends. James Bond was on the phone. He hawked his car. Took out a mortgage. Three months and $30,000 later, Bristol police convinced the man to give up and stop mailing checks.

“That poor old guy, they sold it to him with a silver tongue,” said Bristol Virginia Police Detective Sgt. Steven Crawford. “They seem to always pick on the elderly – talk fast, sound legit and make them feel like they’re obligated. It’s rampant in this area.”

Area senior advocates say Bristol’s aging population makes it an easy – and often profitable – target for con artists. And law enforcement officers are warning residents to be wary because scams are on the rise.