Topic: Elder Financial Exploitation
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We have an elderly customer who seems to be the victim of a home improvement scam. The scammers want her to wire money to a fake healthcare company. We refused to send the wire, but our customer withdrew a cashier’s check for the same amount from one of our tellers, who was unaware of the situation. I know that we cannot normally stop payment on a cashier’s check, but this is blatant fraud. Our customer is adamant that the transaction is legitimate. Is there any way that we can prevent this fraud from occurring?
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You are correct that your bank cannot stop payment on the cashier’s check without risking liability for the check. We believe that you should instead file a suspicious activity report (SAR) and report the scam as potential elder financial exploitation to the Illinois Department of Aging. As a general rule, once a cashier’s check enters…
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Are there specific requirements about the content or length of refresher training for Elder Financial Abuse Prevention? I know that initial training must be at least thirty minutes long. We use Bank Administration Institute (BAI) for our training, and they provide courses that are five, ten, and fifteen minutes long. Does that satisfy the requirements for refresher training?
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Both the initial and refresher elder financial exploitation training programs should be at least thirty minutes long. The Illinois Administrative Code establishes the length and content requirements for elder financial exploitation training. It does not distinguish between the initial and refresher training, which should be at least thirty minutes in duration (among other requirements). Accordingly,…
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An elderly woman and her adult daughter are joint owners on a demand deposit account. The daughter believes that her brother is taking advantage of their mother and would like to prevent her mother from making withdrawals from the account. The daughter also has a power of attorney for the account. What documentation do we need to comply with the daughter’s request? Do we need a court order declaring the mother’s incompetency before we can restrict her access to the account?
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We recommend reviewing the daughter’s power of attorney document and the documentation setting up the account to determine whether the daughter has the authority to completely control the mother’s interest in the account. The Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Property provides the power to execute “financial institution transactions” in line item (b).…
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Are we authorized to put a stop payment on a cashier’s check payable by our bank that has not yet been submitted for payment? We discovered that one of our customers had purchased the cashier’s check as the result of a scam.
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No, we do not believe that your bank may stop payment on the cashier’s check without risking liability for the check. The Illinois Supreme Court has held that a cashier’s check is the equivalent of cash. As a general rule, once a cashier’s check enters the stream of commerce, the issuer (your bank) is liable…
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We have a customer whose son has power of attorney for the customer’s account. The son suspects a family member may be trying to take advantage of his father and would like to limit the amount of money the customer may withdraw from his account. The son has not been appointed guardian of the customer’s estate. Does the son have the power to limit what funds our customer can withdraw from his account?
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We recommend reviewing the son’s power of attorney document to determine whether he has the authority to control the customer’s account. The Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Property provides the power to execute “financial institution transactions” in line item (b). This power includes the authority to “control all accounts and deposits” —…
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Our customer-facing staff is trained on elder financial abuse every two years. Should this training incorporate information about the federal immunity for individuals who have received training when making a good faith disclosure of suspected exploitation of a senior citizen?
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Your bank is not required to incorporate information about federal immunity under the Senior Safe Act, but it may be advantageous to do so if your training fully complies with the federal law’s requirements. The Senior Safe Act confers somewhat limited protections for banks and other financial companies from being sued for reporting suspected elder…
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We are a national bank, and we recently moved our wealth and farm management groups into a separate, state-chartered trust company that will be regulated by the IDFPR and the Federal Reserve. Which compliance regulations apply to a trust company? Do the following apply? BSA, OFAC, AML, CIP, USA Patriot Act, FACT Act, Elder Financial Abuse, UDAAP, and GLBA.
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Trust companies are subject to all the laws mentioned in your question. Broadly speaking, there are no exemptions for trust companies in the laws and regulations that generally apply to banks, bank holding companies, and their subsidiaries. Also, you mention in your question that the trust company will be regulated by the IDFPR and the…
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Does Illinois require a written policy or procedures related to the reporting of suspected elder financial exploitation?
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We are not aware of any Illinois law that expressly requires a bank to have a written policy covering elder financial exploitation, except as noted below. Illinois law does require financial institutions to provide financial exploitation training to employees and officers with direct customer contact every three years, and this law requires your bank to…
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Does Illinois law require a bank to have a written policy covering elder financial exploitation?
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We are not aware of any Illinois law that expressly requires a bank to have a written policy covering elder financial exploitation, except as noted below. Illinois law does require financial institutions to provide financial exploitation training to employees and officers with direct customer contact every three years, and this law requires your bank to…
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We received a subpoena for information for a vulnerable adult. The subpoena is signed by an attorney, but there is no court filing stamp on the document. Do we need to respond to a subpoena that doesn’t have a court stamp?
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Yes, your bank should respond to the subpoena, assuming it was issued in connection with a pending case and the attorney who signed the subpoena is counsel of record for a party in the case. In Illinois, a subpoena may be issued by the clerk of a court or by an attorney admitted to practice…