Suspect Elder Financial Exploitation in Maryland? What to Do
You notice a parent’s checking account draining faster than it should. A new “friend” or caretaker has started handling the mail. A relative who was never close suddenly has signature authority on an account. The unsettling thing about elder financial exploitation is that it usually looks ordinary at first, right up until a substantial amount of money is gone. If something feels wrong, acting early matters, because money that has already left an account is far harder to recover than money still in it.
This guide walks through how to recognize financial exploitation, the immediate steps to take, exactly who to report it to in Maryland (with the statewide hotline), how to preserve evidence properly, and then the law itself: how Maryland defines exploitation and the remedies available under the SAFE Act, which lets victims and their families recover up to three times what was taken. It closes with the steps that prevent exploitation in the first place. It is general information, not legal advice for your specific situation, but it should help you act with more confidence and less panic.
In a hurry? Start here.
If the older adult is in immediate physical danger, call 911. To report suspected exploitation anywhere in Maryland, call the Adult Protective Services statewide hotline at 1-800-917-7383, answered 24 hours a day; you do not need proof, and reports can be made anonymously. Then follow the six steps below to protect the money that remains and the evidence you will need.
Warning signs to watch for
No single item below proves exploitation; each can have an innocent explanation. But several appearing together, or a sudden change from the person’s lifelong patterns, deserves a closer look.
Financial red flags
- Sudden, unexplained withdrawals, transfers, or new account activity
- Signatures on checks that don’t match the person’s handwriting
- Changes to a will, deed, beneficiary designation, or power of attorney that don’t fit long-standing intentions
- New accounts opened jointly with a caretaker or recent acquaintance
- Unpaid bills or shut-off utilities despite adequate income
- Missing belongings, valuables, or financial statements
Behavioral and relational red flags
- A new person accompanying the older adult to the bank or attorney, and answering for them
- The older adult seems confused about, or unaware of, recent transactions
- Isolation, such as a caretaker or relative limiting visits, calls, or access to the person
- The person seems fearful, anxious, or unusually deferential around a particular individual
- A caretaker who refuses to leave the older adult’s side during conversations
Common exploitation scenarios
The abused power of attorney. An agent under a power of attorney is supposed to act in the older adult’s interest. When an agent instead uses the authority to pay their own bills, make gifts to themselves, or drain accounts, that is one of the most common forms of exploitation we see, and one the SAFE Act squarely addresses, because the agent stands in a clear position of trust.
The “convenience” joint account. Families often add an adult child to a parent’s bank account so they can help pay bills. Maryland’s statute reaches misuse of funds from a joint account directly (the exact statutory language is quoted later in this guide), so a shared name on the account is no defense when one owner drains it for themselves.
The new romantic interest or “friend.” A person who appears late in life and quickly becomes involved in finances, pushes for changes to the will or deed, or isolates the older adult from family is a recurring pattern.
The caretaker who takes more than wages. A paid or family caretaker who helps themselves to cash, writes checks, or pressures the person into “loans” that are never repaid.
Scams and strangers. Not all exploitation comes from someone in a position of trust. Romance scams, grandparent scams, lottery and sweepstakes fraud, and tech-support schemes target older adults specifically. These are reported to law enforcement and, where relevant, to the bank, even though the SAFE Act’s trust-based provisions may not apply to a stranger.
What to do right away
1. Make sure the person is safe. If you believe the older adult is in immediate physical danger, call 911 first. Financial exploitation often travels alongside neglect or physical abuse, and safety comes before recovery of money.
2. Write down what you observed, specifically. The single most useful thing a family member can do is keep contemporaneous notes: a written record made at or near the time something happened, while the details are fresh. Courts and investigators give real weight to these notes precisely because they were written before anyone had a reason to shade the story. The difference between a useful note and a useless one comes down to specificity.
A weak note records a conclusion. A strong note records the facts that led you to it (who, what, when, where, exact amounts, and exact words in quotation marks) and separates what you personally saw or heard from what you are guessing. Compare:
Too vague to help
“Mom’s caretaker has been stealing from her for a while now. She took a lot of money and Mom seems scared of her. Something is definitely going on.”
This is a conclusion with no underlying facts. It gives no dates, no amounts, no source for what’s “stolen,” and mixes the writer’s inference (“scared”) with observation. A year from now, the writer won’t remember the specifics, and an investigator can’t act on it.
Specific and useful
“March 14, 2026, ~2:00 PM, at Mom’s house (123 Oak St.). I saw a Bank of America withdrawal slip on the kitchen table for $1,800 cash, dated March 12, with what looked like Mom’s signature. When I asked Mom about it, she said, ‘I don’t remember taking out any money.’ Her caretaker, Donna, was in the next room and said, ‘I drove her to the bank, she wanted cash for the house repairs.’ I am not aware of any house repairs. Mom’s January and February statements (which I have copies of) show three similar cash withdrawals of $1,500–$2,000 each. Present: me, Mom, Donna.”
This works because it is dated and timed, names the people present, gives the exact amount and account, quotes what each person said verbatim, ties the observation to documents the writer actually has, and clearly flags one inference (“I am not aware of any house repairs”) rather than stating it as proven fact.
Keep these notes in a dedicated notebook or document, add to it as events happen rather than reconstructing later, and never go back and edit earlier entries. If you need to correct or add something, write a new dated entry.
3. Preserve documents, and handle them correctly. The paper trail as it actually exists is your evidence. Gather and protect, in particular: bank and credit-card statements (request several years, not just recent months), cancelled checks and withdrawal slips, account-opening and account-change notices, the power of attorney and any amendments, wills and trust documents, deeds and property records, beneficiary-change forms, and any texts, emails, or voicemails from the suspected exploiter.
How you handle these matters as much as gathering them. The good and bad approaches look like this:
What undermines the evidence
- Highlighting, circling, or writing notes directly on original documents
- Throwing away “duplicate” or “old” statements to reduce clutter
- Reorganizing or discarding mail before anyone has reviewed it
- Forwarding documents around by text so the originals get lost in a phone
- Deleting texts or voicemails from the suspected exploiter because they’re upsetting
What protects it
- Keep every original in one secure folder, untouched, and make a clean photocopy or scan to work from and mark up
- Request certified copies of bank statements directly from the institution, which carry more weight than printouts
- Photograph physical evidence (a withdrawal slip, missing valuables, a signed document) with your phone’s date stamp on
- Screenshot and back up texts and voicemails; don’t rely on the message staying on the device
- Note where each document came from and when you obtained it
If you suspect documents may be destroyed, for example if the exploiter controls the mail or has access to the home, securing copies quickly becomes urgent. An attorney can also help by sending a preservation letter and, where appropriate, asking a court to freeze accounts.
4. Contact the financial institution. Banks and credit unions have fraud and elder-protection units, and they are not passive bystanders under Maryland law. When a bank employee has reasonable cause to suspect financial abuse of a customer 65 or older, the institution is required to report it, by phone within 24 hours and in writing within 3 business days, to APS, law enforcement, or the State’s Attorney (Md. Code, Fin. Inst. § 1-306(d)). Securities firms have parallel duties, and broker-dealers and investment advisers may delay a suspicious disbursement while it is investigated (Md. Code, Corps. & Ass’ns § 11-307). Raising your concern with the institution early can stop further losses while the situation is sorted out.
5. Report to Adult Protective Services. See the contacts below. You do not need proof; reasonable suspicion is enough, and reports can be made anonymously.
6. Be careful about confronting the suspected exploiter. A direct confrontation can prompt them to move money, destroy records, or further isolate the older adult. It can also compromise your position if the matter becomes a legal dispute. In most cases, reporting through the proper channels is more effective than a personal showdown.
Who to report to in Maryland
You do not need to prove exploitation before you report it. The standard for making a report is reasonable suspicion, not certainty. Any individual may file an oral or written report with the local department of social services (Md. Code, Fam. Law § 14-302(c)), and anyone who makes or participates in making a report is immune from liability under Md. Code, Fam. Law § 14-309. Investigating agencies exist precisely to determine what actually happened.
Adult Protective Services (APS), statewide hotline: 1-800-917-7383 (1-800-91-PREVENT), answered 24 hours a day. Run through your local Department of Social Services, APS investigates suspected abuse, neglect, self-neglect, and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults. Reports can be made confidentially and anonymously.
Your local Department of Social Services. Every Maryland county and Baltimore City has a local DSS office with an Adult Protective Services unit that investigates abuse, neglect, and exploitation in that jurisdiction. You can report through the statewide hotline above, which routes to the right local office, or contact your county’s DSS directly. The Maryland Department of Human Services maintains a directory of local offices at dhs.maryland.gov.
Local law enforcement: 911 for emergencies, otherwise the non-emergency line. Financial exploitation can be a crime. If you believe a theft or fraud has occurred, your local police or sheriff’s office can investigate, and APS frequently coordinates with them.
Long-Term Care Ombudsman. If the older adult lives in a nursing home or assisted living facility, the Ombudsman program advocates for residents and can address exploitation occurring in that setting.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office. The AG’s Office, through its Consumer Protection and Securities divisions, is authorized to bring civil actions under the SAFE Act on behalf of exploited adults, and offers resources on elder fraud.
Not sure whether what you’re seeing rises to the level of exploitation, or what to do with what you’ve found? That question is exactly what a consultation is for. Contact The Law Office of Maxwell White and we can walk through the facts together.
Organizing the evidence for a case
The earlier steps cover how to gather and physically handle documents and notes. Once you have them, a little organization makes the difference between a pile of paper and a case an investigator or attorney can act on. If the matter ends up in court, whether through a SAFE Act claim, a criminal case, or a guardianship proceeding, the quality and clarity of your evidence often decides the outcome.
- Build a master timeline. A simple chronology covering when the suspected exploiter appeared, when accounts changed, when documents were signed, and when withdrawals happened lets anyone reviewing the case see the pattern at a glance. Tie each entry to the document or note that supports it.
- Identify witnesses early. Neighbors, other family members, the older adult’s doctor, or bank staff who observed changes may be able to corroborate what you saw. Write down their names and what each one observed while memories are fresh.
- Keep an inventory. List the documents you’ve collected and where the originals are stored, so nothing goes missing and you can hand a complete set to your attorney.
- Separate fact from inference throughout. The same discipline that makes a good contemporaneous note makes a good case file: record what you observed, and flag your conclusions as conclusions.
What counts as elder financial exploitation
Financial exploitation is the improper use of an older adult’s money, property, or assets, whether through deception, intimidation, undue influence, or outright theft. It is different from a bad financial decision the person made freely. The line is consent and capacity: an older adult who knowingly gifts money to a grandchild is exercising their right to do so; an older adult who is pressured, tricked, or no longer able to understand what they are signing is being exploited.
Maryland law defines this precisely. Under the state’s elder-protection statute, Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 13-601(e)(1), “financial exploitation” means an act taken by a person who:
Stands in a position of trust and confidence with a susceptible adult or older adult and who knowingly obtains or uses … a susceptible adult’s or older adult’s funds, assets, or property with the intent to … deprive the susceptible adult or older adult of the use, benefit, or possession of the funds, assets, or property for the benefit of someone other than the susceptible adult or older adult, in such a manner that is not fair and reasonable. (Emphasis added.)
The statute also reaches conduct accomplished through pressure or trickery rather than a trust relationship. It covers a person who, by “deception, false pretenses, false promises, larceny, embezzlement, misapplication, conversion, intimidation, coercion, isolation, excessive persuasion, or similar actions and tactics,” takes an older adult’s property; and a person who “knows or should know that a susceptible adult or older adult lacks capacity to consent” and takes their property anyway. In other words, both the con artist and the trusted insider fall within the law.
Subsection (e)(2) spells out specific examples the term includes, among them:
Breach of a fiduciary relationship resulting in the unauthorized appropriation, sale, or transfer of property; … Misappropriation, misuse, or transfer of assets belonging to a susceptible adult or older adult from a personal or joint account; and … Intentional failure to effectively use a susceptible adult’s or older adult’s income and assets for the necessities required for [their] support and maintenance.
That middle clause is why the “convenience” joint account scenario described earlier offers no shield: misuse of funds “from a personal or joint account” is named directly in the statute.
Just as important is what the law leaves out. Subsection (e)(3) makes clear that financial exploitation does not include:
An individual’s good-faith use of a susceptible adult’s or older adult’s assets, including for the purposes of establishing and implementing an estate plan intended to reduce taxes or to maximize eligibility for public benefits in order to preserve assets for an identified or identifiable person.
So the legitimate estate planning families do, gifting strategies, Medicaid planning, and trust funding done in good faith for the older adult’s benefit, is expressly outside the statute, even though it involves moving assets around.
Two defined terms do a lot of work in these provisions. The statute defines a “position of trust and confidence” as a relationship in which a person “is entrusted with the use or management of the property or assets” of the older adult, or in which “there is a special confidence or trust placed in a person who, in equity and good conscience, is bound to act in good faith and with due regard to the interests” of that adult. The people who fit that description are usually the ones closest to the older adult: family members, agents under a power of attorney, caretakers, and trusted new acquaintances. That proximity is exactly what makes exploitation hard to spot and even harder to confront.
Who the law protects
Maryland’s protections reach two overlapping groups:
Older adults. Anyone 68 years of age or older. Age alone qualifies; the person does not have to have any disability or impairment.
Susceptible adults. Adults of any age who cannot perform one or more daily living activities without help, cannot protect their own rights, or have diminished executive functioning because of advanced age, a disability or disease, impaired mobility, addiction, or hospitalization. This category protects, for example, a 60-year-old with dementia who falls below the age threshold but is plainly vulnerable.
If the older adult in your life falls into either group, and most do, the full set of Maryland remedies described below is available to them.
Maryland’s SAFE Act: your legal remedies
Maryland has a dedicated civil law aimed squarely at this problem: the Statute Against Financial Exploitation, known as the SAFE Act (Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §§ 13-601 et seq.), which took effect October 1, 2021. Before it existed, families often had to rely on criminal prosecution, which requires proving criminal intent and depends on limited prosecutorial resources, or on expensive traditional civil claims. The SAFE Act created a civil cause of action built specifically for these cases (§ 13-604). Several features make it a genuinely powerful tool.
Treble (triple) damages. Under § 13-606(b), a court may, in its discretion, award a successful plaintiff up to three times the compensatory damages, that is, up to three times the amount the exploiter took. Unlike traditional claims that only recover what was lost, this added recovery functions as a deterrent and can make pursuing a case economically viable.
Attorney’s fees. The same section, § 13-606(b), allows the court to award reasonable attorney’s fees, which is often what makes hiring a private attorney realistic for a family that has just lost money to an exploiter.
Other remedies. Beyond money damages, a court may order equitable relief under § 13-606, such as an injunction, rescission of a contract, restitution, a constructive trust over wrongfully held property, or declaratory relief.
A broad list of who can sue. Section 13-605 lets the older adult bring the claim themselves, but a wide range of representatives can also sue on their behalf: an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney, a guardian, a trustee or other fiduciary, a health care agent, a spouse, parent, or descendant, a presumptive heir, a named beneficiary, and the personal representative of a deceased victim’s estate. The Maryland Attorney General can also bring an action.
The claim survives death. Under § 13-605(b)(2), a SAFE Act claim does not die with the victim. If the older adult passes away, the personal representative of the estate, or other authorized representatives, can still pursue recovery, which matters in many cases that only come to light after death.
Deadline to act: five years
Under § 13-607, a SAFE Act claim must be filed within five years after the victim or their representative discovers, or through reasonable diligence should have discovered, the facts constituting the exploitation. That is longer than Maryland’s standard three-year civil deadline, but it is not unlimited. If a criminal prosecution arises out of the same facts, the time while it is pending does not count, and once it concludes, the claim may be brought within the remainder of the five-year period or one year, whichever is later. Because the deadline turns on facts specific to your situation, don’t assume you have time; have the timeline reviewed promptly.
How an estate planning attorney fits in
Exploitation cases often surface alongside the documents we work with every day: powers of attorney that were abused, deeds transferred under suspicious circumstances, beneficiary changes that don’t reflect the person’s wishes, or estates where assets went missing before death. An attorney who handles estates and elder matters can help you evaluate whether a SAFE Act claim or other remedy is available, work to preserve and recover assets, and coordinate with APS and law enforcement. And if the older adult has lost the capacity to manage their own affairs and no valid power of attorney exists, guardianship may become necessary to protect them going forward. That is a separate court process, and one we can walk you through.
Preventing exploitation before it starts
The best protection is put in place while the older adult still has full capacity. A few measures make a real difference:
- A carefully drafted power of attorney. The right safeguards, such as naming a trustworthy agent, requiring records, limiting gifting authority, or requiring two agents to act together, close the openings an exploiter would otherwise use.
- Trusts with oversight. A trust with a named trustee and built-in accountability can shield assets and create a clear paper trail.
- Regular family communication. Isolation is the exploiter’s best friend. Older adults who stay connected to multiple trusted people are harder to manipulate.
- Trusted contacts at the bank. Many financial institutions let an accountholder name a “trusted contact” the bank can reach if it spots suspicious activity.
- Periodic reviews. Reviewing estate documents and account arrangements every few years keeps them current and surfaces problems early.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SAFE Act in Maryland?
The SAFE Act (Statute Against Financial Exploitation), Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §§ 13-601 through 13-609, is a civil law effective October 1, 2021 that lets exploited older adults and susceptible adults, or people acting on their behalf, sue the exploiter. Courts may award up to three times the amount taken, plus reasonable attorney’s fees and equitable relief.
Who investigates elder financial exploitation in Maryland?
Adult Protective Services, operated through each county’s Department of Social Services, investigates reports of financial exploitation of vulnerable adults, and coordinates with local law enforcement when the conduct may be criminal. The statewide APS hotline is 1-800-917-7383.
Do I need proof before reporting suspected exploitation?
No. Reasonable suspicion is enough, reports can be made anonymously, and anyone who reports in connection with an APS investigation is immune from liability under Md. Code, Fam. Law § 14-309. The investigating agency’s job is to determine what actually happened.
How long do I have to file a SAFE Act claim?
Generally five years from when the victim or their representative discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the exploitation (Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 13-607). Time during a related criminal prosecution does not count, and the deadline depends on your specific facts, so have it reviewed promptly.
Can my family sue if the exploitation is discovered after my parent has died?
Often, yes. A SAFE Act claim survives the victim’s death (§ 13-605(b)(2)), and the personal representative of the estate, along with other representatives listed in § 13-605, can bring or continue the action. Many exploitation cases only come to light during estate administration.
If you suspect an older adult in your family is being financially exploited, don’t wait for the loss to grow. The Law Office of Maxwell White helps Maryland families understand their options under the SAFE Act, preserve evidence, recover assets, and put protections in place for the people they love. Call (443) 647-9009 or schedule a consultation for a confidential conversation about your situation.
This article is general information about Maryland law, not legal advice, and it should not be relied upon as a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney about your specific situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with The Law Office of Maxwell White, LLC. Statutory details, agency contacts, and legal deadlines can change and depend on the facts of each case. If you are dealing with suspected exploitation, speak with an attorney about your circumstances before acting on anything you read here.