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THURSDAY. MARCH 16. 2017 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 11A
Suspect arrested for bomb threat
Pickens Sheriff’s Press
Release
On March 7th, the City of
Jasper Police and Fire De
partments received a call re
garding a bomb threat being
called into the First Baptist
Church of Jasper. As they ar
rived and began the evacua
tion of the pre-school area,
bomb dogs from the Chero
kee County Sheriff’s Office
were called in to check the
building. In addition, JPD
Detectives began gathering
information and opened their
investigation.
Through their investiga
tion, they were led to a sus
pect by contacting the
Gordon County Sheriff’s Of
fice. After learning of an al
ready active warrant of the
individual through Gordon
County for Terroristic
Threats and Acts, Detectives
from the Jasper Police De
partment joined with Detec
tives from the Pickens
Sheriff’s Office to serve the
warrant on Vinh Bao Huynh
Chau. Chau was located at
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Jasper Fire and other first responders block the parking lot at the First Baptist
Church after a bomb threat was communicated to a staff member there last week.
his home on Matthews Road
in Jasper and was arrested
without incident.
After further investiga
tion, detectives were then
able to charge Chau with the
bomb threat on the First Bap
tist Church. He is currently
being held at the Gordon
County Jail on the previous
Terroristic Threats and has
numerous felony warrants
from the Jasper Police De
partment.
A huge thanks to our part
ners with the Jasper Police
Department, Jasper Fire De
partment, Pickens County
Fire and EMS, and the Gor
don County Sheriff’s Office.
Thanks to their hard work,
the individual responsible
was taken into custody on the
same day the incident oc
curred.
Family Relationships
Elder Abuse: A growing epidemic
By Mary Migliaro, M.Ed.
Executive Director
North Georgia Mountain
Crisis Network
The Atlanta Journal Con
stitution recently reported on
one of the largest cases of fi
nancial exploitation of a sen
ior in Georgia history. It was
discovered that Francis
Perkins, just shy of her 90th
birthday and suffering from
dementia, had been duped by
a family member into signing
over power of attorney to
someone who was basically a
stranger to her. Over a period
of two years, this stranger
stole $3.6 million from her.
There is a growing epi
demic occurring among one
of the fastest growing popu
lations in the United States:
Elder Abuse. Elder abuse
can include neglect, physical
abuse, psychological or emo
tional abuse, and even finan
cial abuse. There are
approximately 75 million
Baby Boomers in the United
States today.
Statistics show that one in
10 seniors age 60 and older
who live at home experience
abuse, neglect, or exploita
tion. Elder abuse affects an
estimated 5 million people
each year. According to the
Government Accountability
Office (GAO), one of the
most common forms of elder
abuse is financial abuse that
is generally perpetrated by
family members.
What does elder abuse
look like? Here is a typical
example: A couple in their
80s have saved a consider
able amount of money that
was intended to be used to
provide caregivers in their
home so they would not have
to stay in a nursing home.
The adult child of that couple
is in dire need of financial as
sistance but decides to use
their parents’ financial re
sources as their own.
They write out a check
from their parents’ account
and take the father’s driver’s
license to the bank stating
that he asked him/her to cash
the check for him. The bank
does so and now the adult
child has opened the door to
additional financial abuse
that can lead to credit cards,
the savings account and
more.
Besides being an underre
ported problem, elder abuse
is also an under-recognized
and often undetected crime
that can have devastating and
life-threatening conse
quences. One of the main
reasons these crimes are not
reported is because they in-
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volve family members. Par
ents are often embarrassed
and in denial that the same
child they gave birth to could
now turn around and take ad
vantage of them in this way.
Financial abuse often oc
curs because seniors become
very trusting of those close to
them; especially their chil
dren. Those who seek to
abuse the finances often use
social isolation and the cog
nitive impairment of the sen
iors. Identity theft can also
occur when an adult child
uses their parent’s good
credit and their Social Secu
rity number to obtain credit
cards, then charge on them
with no intent to pay.
What can families do to
help their loved ones? It can
begin with a sensitive but
frank discussion about the se
nior’s finances and how they
are being handled. This must
be done while the elder has
control of those finances and
does not suffer from demen
tia or some other type of
mental incapacity. Adult chil
dren of elders should help
their loved ones identify what
financial assets they have and
how they are being protected.
Whenever possible, seniors
should use checks or credit
cards, not cash. This provides
a paper trail.
Other strategies for sen
iors: do not co-sign for any
loans or give your home
away in exchange for assis
tance by anyone. These types
of transactions lead to the
senior losing their home or
being subject to paying off a
loan when the family mem
ber defaults on it. Try to build
relationships with financial
advisors such as your banker
so that they can assist in
monitoring any suspicious
activity on bank or credit
card accounts.
Georgia’s current law
governing power of attorney
leaves the elderly more vul
nerable to abuse. Efforts are
Education Programs
Legal & Financial Planning Workshop
March 29, 2017 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Jasper United Methodist Church
Guest Presenters:
Sharon McCoy, The McCoy Law Firm
Jeff Riblet, Asset Protection Group
Caregiver Workshop
June 6, 2017 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Pickens County Community Center
Guest Presenter:
Susan Greene, Geriatric Nurse Practitioner
These events are free. Lunch is provided.
Registration is required.
To register, call 800.272.3900.
alz.org/georgia
underway by legislators to
better define power of attor
ney duties and responsibili
ties as well as provide
safeguards against the abuse
such as that suffered by Fran
cis Perkins. In the meantime,
it is incumbent on all of us to
better protect the elders in
our community and prevent
this abuse from occurring in
the first place.
Maiy Migliaro is the exec
utive director of the North
Georgia Mountain Crisis
Network. The North Georgia
Mountain Crisis Network,
Inc. is a non-profit, non-de-
nominational, charitable or
ganization for survivors of
domestic violence and sexual
assault.
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