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US Reports Largest CrackdownonFraudsters Targeting Older Americans

Masood Farivar

   U.S. prosecutors have charged more than 400 people around the world
   with bilking older Americans out of more than $1 billion in the largest
   elderly fraud crackdown in history.

   This year's sweep marks a 55% increase over last year and comes as the
   Justice Department redoubles its efforts to combat elderly fraud, a
   crime that costs older Americans billions of dollars a year.

   Last year, the Justice Department chargedmore than 260 people with
   defrauding more than 2 million Americans to the tune of more than $750
   million in losses.It was then the largest elderly fraud crackdown on
   record.

   The schemes uncovered this year cost elder Americans more than $1
   billion, according to Attorney General William Barr,who announced the
   results of the latest sweep at an event in Tampa, Florida.

   "What makes these crimes particularly heinous is not only the
   vulnerability of the victims, not only the breach of trust involved,
   but also the victims' stage in life -- the victims usually do not have
   the opportunity to recover from the financial loss," Barr said.

   More than a quarter of the fraudsters have been prosecuted, Barr
   said.All 94 U.S.attorney'soffices around the country were involved.

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