Sen. Carney bill to prevent financial exploitation of older Mainers receives unanimous committee support

AUGUSTA — On Thursday, May 1, the Joint Standing Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services voted unanimously to advance LD 1445, “An Act to Prevent Financial Exploitation of Maine Residents 62 Years of Age or Older.” As amended by the committee, this bill, sponsored by Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, would enable financial institutions and credit unions to better protect certain customers, including those 65 years of age or older (raised from 62 in the original draft of the bill), from financial exploitation.

“Far too many of our older residents fall victim to financial exploitation. They are often targeted because they have retirement savings,” said Sen. Carney. “My own father was a victim of the ‘grandparent scam,’ so this issue is personal to me and so many of my constituents. This bill helps protect Maine people from predatory practices by creating a process that can bring exploitation to the attention of account holders, the people they trust and law enforcement. I thank my colleagues on the Committee for their unanimous support of this measure to help prevent older Mainers from losing their life savings to a scammer.”

LD 1445, as amended, defines financial exploitation in statute. It also allows the “stop and hold” process already in Maine law for broker-dealers and investment advisers to be used by banks and credit unions for customers who meet the definition of “eligible adult.” “Eligible adult” is defined as “an individual 65 years of age or older; or an individual protected under the Adult Protective Services Act.” The legislation allows a bank or credit union to delay a disbursement from an account if financial exploitation is suspected, with proper notification to account holders and the Office of the Attorney General.

In addition, LD 1445 allows financial institutions to create a process for account holders to designate someone for the bank or credit union to contact, along with the account owner, when a concern about fraud arises. Finally, the bill would also allow financial institutions and credit unions to provide confidential access to or copies of records related to suspected financial exploitation to law enforcement agencies.

In his testimony in favor of LD 1445 at its public hearing in April, Josh Steirman, Director of Government Relations for the Maine Bankers Association, said, “Fraud of all types is unfortunately increasing — especially schemes targeting older Mainers. … This bill provides another tool in the fight against fraud and elder exploitation. … Depositors should only be restricted from accessing their own funds when a clear need is present and documented [—] and this bill does just that, establishing objective standards for thoughtful, constructive protections which will help decrease fraud. The bill includes several elements we view as essential: the financial institution must establish clear policy and procedures, reasonable documentation of suspected abuse must be present, and use of these mechanisms by any financial institution is encouraged but not mandated. We believe this program can prevent financial exploitation, and we encourage passage of the bill.”

In her testimony in support of LD 1445 at the public hearing, AARP Maine Fraud Watch Program volunteer Pam Partridge of North Anson said, “I have personally heard bank employees say they have concerns about the increasing financial exploitation of their customers and that they are trained to know the signs of potential fraud and what to do as a response. Buying some time to report, investigate, and restore clarity to what is really going on during a scam is a very valuable prevention strategy. … As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. … We need tools like LD 1445 and continued education to prevent financial exploitation in the first place so that we don’t have to tell victims, ‘I am so sorry, but we cannot recover the money you lost.’”

LD 1445 now faces votes in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

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