Elderly in Columbus have lost thousands to scams, fraud. Why cases are hard to investigate

When 78-year-old Arthur Cunningham spent several days in a hospital in 2020, his greatest concern should have been his health. It ended up being his money when Barbara Meadows, 58, stole his bank card and used it several times. Meadows was charged with eight felonies, including the exploitation of an elderly person, and convicted of two counts of financial fraud.

Sgt. Jane Edenfield, who has spent over a decade investigating the elder scams and exploitation cases that cross her desk in the Columbus Police Department’s property crimes unit, said Meadows is far from the only person taking advantage of Columbus’ senior citizens.

She estimated CPD received at least 2,000 reports of potential elder fraud over the last three years, with individual losses in some solved cases amounting to as much as nearly $250,000.

Monitoring the money

Edenfield said the majority of the cases she sees are brought to her attention by bank employees in the area. Banks became mandatory reporters of potential elderly financial abuse in 2013, starting the referral process used today.

“When they see something funky, they’ll call,” she said. “What they’re required to do is report it to police and report it to Adult Protective Services, so a lot of times we’ll get referrals from Adult Protective Services, too.”

Edenfield said she and the eight other people investigating property crimes for CPD do their best to help as many people as possible, but the number of referrals they get is overwhelming.

“The cases that we’ve worked, it’s not even a drop in the bucket,” she said. “Wells Fargo probably sends five (referrals) a week … I’m not going to be able to work all of those.”

Edenfield and Cpl. Stacia Miller are the only officers in the unit certified to investigate crimes against at-risk adults, which is part of the reason why the unit only works seven to 10 cases every year.

The scams

There are two kinds of elder fraud scams commonly seen in Columbus: Financial exploitation by a relative, and electronic scams.

Edenfield said roughly 85% of financial exploitation in the area comes from one or more of the victim’s family members, although these cases are often under-reported.

“If we left it up to these elderly people to report it, they’re not going to,” she said. “ I think fraud as a whole is very under-reported because of embarrassment. A lot of times it is family members or caretakers, so (the elderly) don’t want to put them in jail.”

Exploitation by those closest to the victim is significantly more common in Columbus, but FBI data from 2023 indicates tech support scams were responsible for the most crimes against Americans over 60.

A major aspect separating family fraud from phone, computer and email scams is the potential to solve the case. Most scams done over the phone or computer are extremely difficult, if not impossible, for officers to look into.

“There are all these elderly people who have fallen victim to scams, like phone scams,” she said. “It would trigger the exploitation referral, but I still have to look at the solvability factor.”

Edenfield said most of the phone scams she sees come from abroad. If an elderly person is exploited and wires money internationally, the case leaves CPD’s jurisdiction and she can’t pursue it anymore.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t call these people and give them websites,” she said. “I still assist these elderly folks, even if it’s a case I can’t work. I still take time to make sure that I help them in some way.”

The future of elder fraud

Nationally, fraud continues to pose a significant threat to the elderly.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center , which compiles information about and investigates online fraud, noted an 11% increase in elder fraud cases between 2022 and 2023. Americans over 60 filed over 100,000 complaints to the FBI, accounting for nearly $3.5 billion in losses.

Edenfield said elder fraud is also increasing in the Columbus area, partially because electronic scams are getting easier to perpetrate.

“They’re using AI technology to do this stuff,” she said. “They’re doing the text messages with the links in there. Elderly people do have social media, so there’s all these social media scams out there. It can only increase.”

Edenfield said many instances of scams could be mitigated with knowledge and resources, like the ones shared in presentations given by the property crimes unit around Columbus. When it comes to exploitation by a family member, though, her best advice is paying attention.

“If you’ve got one family member that might be exploiting (a loved one), make sure that everybody stays in communication with the elderly folks in your tribe,” she said.

Fraud reports won’t go away, but Edenfield said she’s prepared for the work ahead.

“I wish people could come work one of these cases with me and Miller and see the long hours,” she said. “My victims actually care, and they actually want justice. It’s just so time consuming, but it’s so worth it.”