‘I felt betrayed. I felt very vulnerable’
While 79-year-old Lois Holland was in and out of hospital, the man she had befriended and entrusted to take care of her bills and errands allegedly started skimming money out of her bank account. She was eventually left with $12. Police announced Wednesday that an Edmonton taxi driver has been charged with allegedly stealing more than $10,000 from Holland’s bank account between December 2014 and September 2015.
“I felt betrayed. I felt very vulnerable. I said to myself, ‘You think you’re so smart Lois, you’re not that smart.’ It does horrible things to your self-confidence,” Holland said.
Holland met the accused in 2012 when she was discharged from hospital.
The man had previously been her taxi driver and they got along, she said. He was about the same age as her oldest son and he told her she reminded him of his mother.
“At the time, Ms. Holland didn’t have much family. She didn’t have a large social circle and she found there was some kindness in this man, and found that he was trustworthy,” said Det. Alf Ma with the Edmonton police’s elder abuse unit.
Ma began investigating the case in February after Holland’s bank noticed unusual withdrawals from her account, he said.
It is estimated that more than 7,000 seniors in Edmonton and 26,000 in Alberta have experienced elder abuse in some form, statistics provided by the city indicate. Last year, the elder abuse unit concluded 48 files and laid nine charges.
For two years, Holland paid the man on a monthly basis to drive her to appointments and run errands. He introduced her to his wife and invited her to spend Christmas with them, she said.
In 2014, she appointed him power of attorney and gave him access to her bank account while she was in hospital to make it easier for him to pay her expenses.
“When I came out of hospital, I discovered that my bank accounts were empty,” she said.
“Your first feeling is shock that somebody has let you down and then you feel embarrassed. You don’t want to tell anybody because they’ll think you’re an idiot. You just sit there and it just preys on your mind.”
Ma said elder abuse often goes unreported because the perpetrators tend to be family members or close friends who the senior trusts and loves. The senior may feel so ashamed or embarrassed about being duped and don’t want to come forward.
“Just like domestic violence, elder abuse is not talked about,” Ma said. “Whether it’s neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, or, in this case, financial, people don’t want to talk about it. It’s something that remains behind closed doors. But nothing happens if nobody comes forward,” Ma said.
Antoine Chebli, 59, has been charged with theft over $5,000 in connection to the Holland case. He is scheduled to appear in court June 28.
Last month, the elder abuse unit charged a 53-year-old Edmonton man with allegedly stealing $265,000 from his 94-year-old grandmother, who had entrusted him with power of attorney.
On Wednesday, the city proclaimed June 15 Elder Abuse Awareness Day and encouraged seniors and others to report mistreatment.
The provincial government also announced it would give $1.2 million in grants to 25 seniors groups, community organizations and municipalities to help address and prevent elder abuse as part of its three-year initiative to take action against it.
SUPPORT FOR SENIORS Seniors’ Abuse Helpline, 24 hours a day, 780-454-8888Seniors Protection Partnership, 780-477-2929Edmonton Police Service complaint line 780-4234567 oellwand@postmedia.com twitter.com/otiena