New Law Aims to Keep Wolf Out of Granny's Bank Account. -

By Jondi GumzSentinel staff writer

If an elderly customer's bank account dwindles from ATM withdrawals and check signatures, tellers will not remain silent.

Employees of bank, savings and loan associations, and credit unions will be required to report known and suspected financial abuse of elderly customers under a new law taking effect Jan. 1.

"The tragedy is a lifetime of assets can disappear," said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who championed the new law. "It's all well and good to prosecute, but that doesn't bring the money back."

In one local case, a 93-year-old grandmother from Boulder Creek lost $800,000, her life savings, to relatives through transactions involving real estate, powers-of-attorney and changes to a living trust.

Contact Jondi Gumz at mailto:jgumz@santacruzsentinel.com?subject=New.