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Elderly victim far from alone Taken for $700,000, she's part of rising instance of fraud From staff and wire reports MYRTLE CREEK -- Mae Wilkinson is trying to enjoy her last days in her own home. She doesn't have much time: On July 6, it will be auctioned off on the steps of the Douglas County Courthouse -- all because the 75-year-old widow trusted the wrong friends. According to Douglas County authorities, those "friends" swindled more than $700,000 from Wilkinson before skipping town one step ahead of the law. Unfortunately, there's more where those two came from. Southern Oregon has one of the fastest-growing populations of senior citizens in the country, and abuse of elders -- particularly abuse in the form of financial fraud -- is on the rise. "It can be relatives or relative strangers," said Karen Hampton, branch manager in Medford of the state Senior Services Office. "Sometimes it's both." Wilkinson's problems began in 1996, when her late sister left her a large sum of money. That's also when she suddenly found herself befriended by Valina Wisner, 38, and Rebecca Justin, 42, her neighbors in Coarsegold, Calif. Over time, the two persuaded Wilkinson to lend them money for an asbestos-removal business -- money Wilkinson never saw again. A year later, Wisner told Wilkinson she would like to move to Oregon. Wilkinson agreed, thinking it would be a great place to keep her many animals. At Wisner's suggestion, Wilkinson put a $55,000 down payment on 100 acres in Douglas County and paid for most of a three-bedroom house. The two women then persuaded Wilkinson to remove her name from the deed, telling her she would lose the property because of a tax obligation on her inheritance. And they eventually persuaded Wilkinson to even turn over control of her checking account and ATM card. By September, the women allegedly drained Wilkinson's accounts dry and stole a $150,000 second mortgage on the home -- just before they fled for Tennessee. Wilkinson now faces a bank's repossession of her home. Wilkinson's case is by no means isolated, said Aileen Kaye, abuse prevention coordinator for the state's Senior and Disabled Services Division. According to her, abuse of elders in Oregon is "absolutely rampant." In 1997, 957 cases of financial fraud perpetrated on the elderly were reported statewide. That's up from 741 in 1996 and 365 cases in 1993. In Jackson County, Hampton estimates that up to 30 percent of the 400 cases of abuse her office investigated last year involved direct allegations of fraud or "elements" of fraud. Such cases can be difficult to measure and difficult to investigate because victims often hesitate to tell anyone they're in trouble and they often have difficulty remembering the specifics. Also at stake is an elderly person's right to make mistakes, just the same as anybody else. "We don't want to assume that just because they may seem confused on some points, it doesn't necessarily mean they don't know what to do with their money," Hampton said. "They well may have been foolish with their money when they were 30." Experts like Kaye and Hampton attribute some of the increased reporting to the Elder Abuse Prevention Act, passed by the state Legislature in 1995. The law makes it easier for bank employees to report suspicions when they notice odd financial decisions being made in accounts of the elderly. Hampton recalled a recent local case in which a bank clerk passed along concerns that an elderly customer was being used by a freeloading adult grandchild. Checks had bounced, and large sums of cash were being withdrawn. An investigation revealed that the grandparent, who seemed mentally competent, had been living alone in a rural area for many years and feared having to sell the home and move into town without somebody to help out around the place. "It was not an ideal situation, but we respected the decision," she said. " In Wilkinson's case, Eugene attorney Robert C. Tozer sued the two women in late April. While a judge awarded Wilkinson more than $2.7 million in economic and punitive damages and returned the deed of the house to Wilkinson's name, little can be done to prevent the house from being repossessed. "The only thing that could help is a good Samaritan coming along to pay the mortgage -- a knight in shining armor," Tozer said. Criminal charges against Wisner and Justin, who still live in Tennessee, will be heard by a Douglas County grand jury in the next two weeks. But, even if warrants are issued, they may not be acted upon. Oregon usually conducts nationwide manhunts only for murder. "Really, I'm a dumb bunny," said Wilkinson, staring out the window at the rolling landscape and wondering where she will live next. "I don't know how it happened," she said. "It all just fell apart." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA