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The prosecution must start by proving, beyond reasonable doubt, that the alleged victim was actually a vulnerable adult at the time the act in question was committed.
Frequently these adults, when they were younger, entrusted their financial affairs to a caregiver.
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All Rights Reserved. These caregivers can be a relative (a son, a daughter, a nephew, a niece, a spouse, etc.)
(b) If the actor knew or had reason to know that the vulnerable adult lacked capacity to consent, consent is not a defense to a violation of this section.A person who violates subdivision 1, clause (1) or (2), item (i), may be sentenced as provided in section In any prosecution under this section, the value of the money or property or services received by the defendant within any six-month period may be aggregated and the defendant charged accordingly in applying the provisions of subdivision 3; provided that when two or more offenses are committed by the same person in two or more counties, the accused may be prosecuted in any county in which one of the offenses was committed for all of the offenses aggregated under this subdivision.Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section
Subdivision 1. Financial exploitation happens in many ways.
Whoever does any of the following acts commits the crime of financial exploitation:(1) in breach of a fiduciary obligation recognized elsewhere in law, including pertinent regulations, contractual obligations, documented consent by a competent person, or the obligations of a responsible party under section (i) fails to use the real or personal property or other financial resources of the vulnerable adult to provide food, clothing, shelter, health care, therapeutic conduct, or supervision for the vulnerable adult;(ii) uses, manages, or takes either temporarily or permanently the real or personal property or other financial resources of the vulnerable adult, whether held in the name of the vulnerable adult or a third party, for the benefit of someone other than the vulnerable adult; or(iii) deprives either temporarily or permanently a vulnerable adult of the vulnerable adult's real or personal property or other financial resources, whether held in the name of the vulnerable adult or a third party, for the benefit of someone other than the vulnerable adult; or(i) acquires possession or control of an interest in real or personal property or other financial resources of a vulnerable adult, whether held in the name of the vulnerable adult or a third party, through the use of undue influence, harassment, or duress;(ii) forces, compels, coerces, or entices a vulnerable adult against the vulnerable adult's will to perform services for the profit or advantage of another; or(iii) establishes a relationship with a fiduciary obligation to a vulnerable adult by use of undue influence, harassment, duress, force, compulsion, coercion, or other enticement.
It can be a serious felony where a person convicted faces time in prison and crippling fines and restitution orders. MN Lawyers Experienced in Defending Charges of Exploiting Vulnerable Adults.
The deployment of this system has led to an increase in the number of individuals being investigated and charged with exploiting vulnerable adults.But for a court to convict an accused person on financial exploitation charges, the prosecution needs more than an online database or a red flag.
These include when someone who has a legal obligation to manage the money makes unauthorized expenditures of a vulnerable adult’s funds, or fails to use the funds for his/her food, clothing, shelter, health care or supervision.