One Piece of the Puzzle-Financial Exploitation and Elder Abuse

Abstract

Elder Financial Exploitation is both a piece of the broader puzzle of elder abuse and a puzzle onto itself. Elder Financial Exploitation, “the illegal or improper use of an elder’s funds, property, or assets,” occurs both alone (pure financial exploitation) and in conjunction with other forms of elder abuse (hybrid financial exploitation). It consists of crimes of occasion, desperation, and predation. This chapter describes how elder financial exploitation fits into the broader matrix of elder abuse. It describes perpetrators, victims, and the psychodynamics of the perpetrator–victim relationship. It offers recommendations for integrating efforts to combat financial exploitation into elder abuse prevention efforts.