Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

If you regularly peruse the Mercer Island Reporter’s police report, you have probably noticed the trend of fraud targeting seniors. Some of the crimes are new. For example, the “Grandma Scam,” in which a young‑sounding person — often overseas and always posing as a grandchild — makes a breathless phone call pleading for an urgent wire transfer to pay a medical bail or to post a jail bond.
SEATTLE – Recent layoffs mean more Washington residents are without health insurance. The good news is they may qualify for assistance to help cover the costs of necessary prescription medications.
OLYMPIA – As state legislators prepare to head home, Attorney General Rob McKenna was gratified that many of his consumer protection, community safety, and open government priorities had been approved by the Legislature. Some have already been signed into law and others await the Governor’s signature.
SEATTLE – Local law enforcement agencies are seeing a disturbing number of crimes committed against some of the state’s most vulnerable targets: the elderly and those with mental or physical disabilities. Attorney General Rob McKenna, along with the King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg and Assistant Secretary Kathy Leitch of the Department of Social and Health Services today announced a series of new proposals aimed at bringing abusers to justice, preventing mistreatment and ending financial exploitation.
SEATTLE – Attorney General Rob McKenna is set to announce aggressive new proposals to protect our state’s vulnerable adults -- the elderly and those with mental or physical disabilities. King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg and Department of Social and Health Services Assistant Secretary Kathy Leitch will appear with McKenna to outline what needs to be done to better protect our state’s most vulnerable citizens.
Relating the story of a relative whose son drained her bank account, Attorney General Rob McKenna gave kudos to legislators for approving new tools to protect seniors, shared new resources in his office to help investigators and prosecutors crack down on elder crimes and announced a statewide vulnerable adults summit to develop best practices to protect vulnerable populations.
Each year more than 565,000 cases of elder abuse are reported in the United States, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse, but it is estimated as many as 5 million elders are mistreated each year.  Attorney General Rob McKenna, Social and Health Services Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams, state legislators and the state long-term care ombudsman Wednesday will discuss legislation and other proposals to protect vulnerable adults in Washington.
SEATTLE – Older adults who have spent a lifetime earning their savings are prime targets for abusers and crooks who deliberately prey on their generosity, friendliness or mental confusion, Attorney General Rob McKenna said.
RENTON – More than 140 South King County residents today joined a growing force of Washington seniors determined to fight back against consumer fraud.

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