In the meantime, a grueling and very public, six-month criminal trial took place, including testimony from Philip Marshall against his father that ended in Anthony Marshall’s conviction. He was in prison for a short time in 2013 before being released for medical reasons, and he died in 2014. Liz Loewy was the lead prosecutor for the district attorney’s office at the time.
“I was worried about Philip during the trial because what he was doing was so difficult,” Loewy says. “Not many of these cases make it to criminal trial. Most plea-bargain out. Testifying against his father was very emotional but he held up very well. I am amazed at how brave he was then and is continuing to be now.”
She adds, “People are not taking this issue seriously enough. I hope people in financial services, banks and advisory firms are starting to think about financial elder abuse long and hard.
“There is a myth out there that only people with tons of money can pursue a case like this. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have had cases that involve hundreds of dollars, as well as ones that involve millions,” Loewy says. (She’s moved on from the district attorney’s office and is now a general counsel at EverSafe, a fraud and identity theft protection company.)
Speaking at a conference on elder justice in Philadelphia in November, Marshall said, “If I had it to do over again, I would take my suspicions to the Manhattan district attorney’s office immediately. It was my hope in filing for guardianship that this would remain a family affair and be quietly settled.
“Yet for my victimized grandmother, and many others, elder abuse is not a family affair or a ‘civil’ matter. It is a crime and needs to be treated as such so victims and their supporters are not revictimized,” he said.
The conference is one of many such events Marshall participates in. “It is really good to help people in these situations,” he says. “Elder abuse includes financial exploitation, psychological abuse and physical abuse and neglect. Financial abuse is evidentiary [easier to prove]. It is much more difficult to prove someone is under the undue influence of another person, so the financials were our fallback.”
Marshall now crisscrosses the country to push for elder justice and advance the cause of protecting the elderly. Also, he maintains a website, www.BeyondBrooke.org.
The problems are often evident in financial transactions first, which is why financial advisors should be in the lead of the fight, Marshall says. Financial exploitation can also be an indicator that there is other abuse going on, such as physical and psychological abuse and neglect.
“We need to aim for really early detection of cognitive impairment of the elderly, and financial advisors are in a perfect position to do that,” he explains. “It also has to be a multidisciplinary solution involving financial advisors and banks, law enforcement, the medical profession and psychologists.”