San Diego Elder Justice Task Force — Combating Elder Scams with Local/Federal Collaboration

Tens of billions of dollars are being stolen from elder victims each year. While the scammers are mostly overseas, there is a black market economy of gift cards, cash, and cryptocurrency flourishing within the United States. Sadly, when the thousands of victims each year report these crimes to the police, they are told, “Sorry, there is nothing we can do.” The San Diego Elder Justice Task Force (EJTF) set out to answer the question: “What could we do?” The EJTF is an unprecedented collaboration by local and federal agencies lead by the FBI, the District Attorney’s Office, The U.S. Department of Justice, and the local U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California in San Diego. By investigating these cases locally, the EJTF has revealed a road map for combating these scams highlighted recently by a first of its kind Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.