(00:00) Hackard Law represents beneficiaries in California contingency trust litigation cases.
(00:08) Elder financial abuse: civil vs. criminal cases
(00:40) Strict standard for criminal elder financial abuse
(00:58) Anthony David Flores and Ana Rene Moore elder financial abuse trial
(01:21) Brian Stoffel elder financial abuse case
(03:05) Kalene Chantell McMillan elder financial abuse sentence
(03:49) Wisconsin elder financial abuse case
(04:21) How elderly loved ones are exploited by abusers for financial gain
(05:07) Hackard Law represents clients in elder financial abuse civil litigation. Call us today at 916-313-3030.
I’m Mike Hackard with Hackard Law. We represent clients in California trust, estate, and financial elder abuse contingency fee cases.
We aren’t criminal prosecutors. We are civil attorneys who practice in the civil courts. We neither have the authority nor power to prosecute individuals whose wrongdoing discovered in a civil proceeding might also be criminal.
Burden of proof standards are different in civil cases. For the most part, proving the merits of a civil case means proving the required liability elements by the preponderance of evidence. This is a “more likely than not” standard. Federal and state prosecutors have a higher burden in criminal cases - the standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Apparent civil wrongs might well look criminal. This is up to law enforcement agencies. Here are a few recent examples where law enforcement agencies stepped in to prosecute some financial elder abusers.
In February of this year the U.S. Justice Department announced that a Fresno hairstylist, Anthony David Flores, and an actress, Ana Rene Moore, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, two counts of money laundering, and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property.
The indictment alleges that they defrauded a physician out of more than $2.7 million before his death and then attempted to defraud his estate out of an additional amount exceeding $20 million. It’s also alleged that the defendants concealed information about the victim’s finances from his mother and sister, both of whom resided in Florida. This prompted the victim’s family to file a lawsuit, which uncovered the alleged fraud.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted on all counts, Flores and Moore would face statutory maximum sentences of 20 years in prison for each fraud count, 20 years on the conspiracy to commit money laundering and laundering of monetary instruments counts, 10 years on transactional money laundering count, and a mandatory two-year prison sentence for the aggravated identity theft count.
In another February announcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California stated that Brian Stoffel, 38, of Fresno, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison for bank fraud and identity theft for stealing money from an elderly victim’s bank accounts and getting fraudulent loans in the victim’s name. According to court documents, between September 2020 and August 2021, Stoffel obtained the personally identifiable information for an elderly victim and used it to drain the victim’s savings and apply for loans in the victim’s identity. Stoffel used the proceeds to purchase a new motorcycle, attend an NFL playoff game, and shopping at retail stores.
In another 2023 California case the Tuolumne County District Attorney announced that Kalene Chantel McMillan was sentenced to 12 years in state prison for a series of thefts that essentially drained her disabled mother’s entire retirement account. Forged checks, altered powers of attorney, and felony child abuse were all elements in this most unfortunate case. Superior Court Judge Laura Krieg, sentencing the defendant to 12 years in prison, noted that taking all the money in her disabled mother’s account was terrible and that “children should take care of their elderly parents, not steal from them.”
Of course, the list goes on. California financial elder abuse is hardly limited to these examples.
We civilly litigate such actions in California’s largest urban areas. If you would like to speak with us about your case, call us at Hackard Law: 916-313-3030. We’ll be happy to speak with you.
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