U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas Recognizes World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – United States Attorney Kate E. Brubacher encourages the citizens of Kansas to recognize World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, 2023, and to remain vigilant on behalf of our older family, friends, and loved ones who are at increased risk of abuse and fraud.

Older persons are at higher risk of exploitation, emotional and physical abuse, neglect, financial frauds, and scams, which can be perpetrated against them by strangers, trusted friends, and family alike. In addition to exploiting close relationships, abusers can contact older adults by phone, email, mail, social media, and the internet. Staying connected with older adults, encouraging trust and transparency regarding their relationships and contacts, and reducing social isolation are some of the most powerful tools in our community arsenal for combatting abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.

These intentional and negligent acts affect millions of older adults every year, with wide-reaching implications on victims’ physical and emotional health, their finances, and their dignity and sense of trust. Unfortunately, the unprecedented challenges of the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic have only exacerbated vulnerabilities that tend to disproportionally impact older adults.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas remains steadfastly committed to supporting and coordinating with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to combat abuse of our elder citizens. Schemes to defraud these citizens with tactics such as social security and tax imposter scams, tech support scams, lottery scams, and romance scams are priorities the Office continues to investigate and prosecute on an ongoing basis.

Last year, in the District of Kansas, Oyindamola Akinrinola was sentenced on November 15, 2022, to six months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to her plea agreement, Arkinrinola participated in a scheme involving Facebook messages from an individual who purported to be with FedEx. Victims were led to believe they won a $130,000 grant and that FedEx would deliver the cash if the victims paid a “case file fee”. When victims said they did not have money to pay the “fee”, they allowed the purported Facebook account holder to purchase iPhones through their Verizon account and mail them to Arkinrinola. Victims also received an image from the Facebook account claiming to be from the IRS and requesting $15,000 before the grant funds were released. The victims never received any of the grant money they supposedly won from FedEx. 

Akinrinola also admitted receiving more than $160,000 in deposits related to scams and remitting the majority of money to Nigeria after keeping a portion of the scammed proceeds for herself.

Also, last year a federal grand jury in Topeka indicted a U.S. Army service member for allegedly participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $149,476 from at least 25 individuals.

On March 3, 2023, Innocent Ugwu, a U.S Army service member plead guilty to wire fraud to fraudulently obtain approximately $149,476 from victims.  According to the plea agreement, Ugwu engaged in a scheme to defraud and to obtain money from victims across the United States.  Specifically, Ugwu engaged in a romance and/or advanced fee scheme by falsely claiming there was money internationally that could not be accessed until the victim paid a small amount of taxes; claiming ailments or hardships to entice the victim to transfer money for life saving medical procedures; and also contacted victims pretending to be an attorney and requesting money as a retainer to pursue the fraudsters to recoup the victim's original loss.  He then transferred the money to and through multiple bank accounts opened and controlled by him.

Ugwu is scheduled to be sentenced June 20, 2023.

The Department of Justice maintains a robust set of resources to educate yourself and your loved ones about these issues at https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice. If you or someone you know is a victim of elder fraud, please call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833–FRAUD–11 (833–372–8311). The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. eastern time. Services are available for speakers of English, Spanish, and other languages. You may also report suspected elder fraud by calling the Denver FBI field office at (303) 629-7171.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations in order to raise the public consciousness to these too often underrecognized and underreported violations of human rights.

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