Recently the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced the formation of a new Board committee to address a wide range of challenges confronting senior investors. The announcement came on the heels of the agencies disclosure that at least a third of its members’ enforcement actions by state securities regulators since 2008 have involved senior victims among states that track victims by age. Of the 10,526 enforcement actions initiated between 2008 and 2013, 3,548 involved victims age 62 and older. Further, the NASAA stated that this amount is a conservative estimate since it does not include cases from states that do not report the age of victims and many senior victims simply do not come forward.
As long-time readers of this blog post know, we have frequently wrote the issue of scams and fraud targeting the elderly. See How Elderly Investors Can Protect Their Retirement Savings and The Problem of Senior Investor Abuse – A Securities Attorney’s Perspective.
The agency stated that “NASAA and its members have been in the forefront in detecting the problem of senior investor abuse and responding to it aggressively with innovative regulatory solutions, targeted enforcement, investor education and publication of best practices for serving senior investors.”
While actions such as the NASAA’s are certainly positive developments, senior abuse still happens much too frequently. In fact, we have also reported that even some members of Congress still believe that we should be focusing on educating seniors rather than regulating fraud. See The Failure to Protect the Public From Securities Fraud – Part I.
The attorneys at Gana Weinstein LLP are experienced in handling claims involving the senior abuse. Our attorneys can help you detect and uncover suspicious activity in your accounts. Our consultations are free of charge and the firm is only compensated if you recover.