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Financial abuse of the elderly in California includes a broad range of crimes from out-and-out theft of money or property, to improper use of assets; from breaching a fiduciary duty to safeguard assets, to coercion or financial exploitation. Orange County’s population of people 65+ will be nearly 25% of all residents in the next 25…

Both California and federal laws put a broad swath of professionals who interact with adults and children into the category of “mandatory reporters” of child abuse or neglect. Failure to report abuse or neglect, even if only suspected, is a crime. Reporting is the legal duty of the individual, and cannot be handed off to…

You’ve surely seen all the news reporting by now about the massive hack of Equifax that stole identity data of nearly half of all people in the U.S.  Criminals got away with particularly sensitive identifying information – names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and some driver’s license numbers. That kind of information allows someone…

Here you are going about your day and suddenly find yourself inside a crime scene, witness to a crime. That can be as scary as being the victim of the crime. You may not be in control of the events around you, but you can play a powerful role in what happens after the fact.…

I have someone’s password. Is it a computer crime to use it? I figured out someone’s password. Is it a crime to log in? It depends. Both California law and federal law guide whether you could find yourself on the wrong side of the answer. Computer crime laws are generally aimed at actions that damage,…

A nationwide action last week by the Department of Justice involved the arrests of more than 400 doctors, nurses, medical professionals and workers for fraudulent billings and other acts of fraud. Some caught up in the sweep are physicians and residents of Orange County. Selling prescriptions for opioids, recruiting addicts for false tests and treatments;…

Tighter regulations are now on the books that limit employers’ use of criminal background information for hiring decisions. The California Fair Employment and Housing Council proposed these new regulations last year. They took effect July 1, 2017, having made their way through the regulatory and public comment process. Under the regulations employers using criminal history…

Credit card ring, a fake attorney, fire victim embezzlement, and food stamp fraud top the list of recent white-collar crimes cases in and around Orange County. Restaurant credit card skimming in Huntington Beach Federal authorities have in custody 12 of 13 suspects in a credit card fraud ring accused of stealing more than 500 credit card…

A Connecticut man has been arrested for the murder of his wife. He tells one story about how his wife died. His wife’s Fitbit seemingly tells a different story. A mid-morning 911 call last December brought police to the home of Connie and Richard Dabate. Police arrived to find Connie dead in the basement from…