Edmonton police caution seniors about power-of-attorney theft

The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is launching a new education campaign aimed at teaching seniors how to prevent the theft of their power of attorney (POA).

A POA is a legal document that gives another person the authority to make financial decisions on someone’s behalf. In most cases, the person issuing the POA has lost capacity or the ability to manage decisions on their own. A senior would select someone to act as their POA, which is a separate document from a will.

Exploiting seniors through their POA is a criminal offence.

“Victims of theft undertaken by their appointed power of attorney are often reluctant to accept that one of their children, a member of their extended family or a life-long friend would steal from them,” explained EPS Det. Alfred Ma, a veteran investigator with the service’s senior protection unit.

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Police suspect that many incidents of POA theft go unreported and several are reported after a senior’s death when the will takes effect.

“At that time, family members discover that there is little, if any, funds left from the senior’s estate to share between remaining family members,” Ma added.

“Not only are they dealing with the death of their loved one, but the criminal behaviour and betrayal of a surviving family member. It can be very distressing for people.”

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In one case, detectives were contacted by a long-term care facility after it wasn’t able to process a payment for a senior. The facility contacted EPS after it was notified the senior had “insufficient funds.” A police investigation revealed a family member was appointed to be the senior’s POA and the accused had been e-transferring funds from the senior’s account.

The investigation showed that the accused had stolen more than $1 million from the senior using the POA over several years. The family member was charged with fraud and theft over $5,000 via POA.

EPS is launching a public awareness campaign with a new 15-second commercial which will be airing on Edmonton television stations over the coming weeks, highlighting the fraudulent exploitation of seniors under a POA.

To report elder abuse contact the EPS complaint line at 780-423-4567.

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