She had so, so much undue influence had been imposed on her.
Here she thinks she’s being completely brook and he’s just selling stuff left and right.
I’m joined once again in the studio by the AARP Fraud Watch web link Ambassador Frank Abagnale.
[00:00:31] Frank Abagnale: Hi, Will.
Great to be with you again.
It’s story of a stolen fortune, a fight for guardianship, and a family’s broken trust.
[00:00:39] MUSIC SEGUE
[00:00:44] Will Johnson: Brooke Astor defined NY society.
She was classy, glamourous, smart, and funny.
He and a family lawyer stole tens of millions from Brooke Astor after she was diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease.
They were eventually convicted of the crime.
[00:01:33] Will Johnson: Alright, I am here with Phillip Marshall.
[00:01:44] Phillip Marshall: To the world, she was Brooke Astor.
She was never really Mrs. Vincent Astor, she was Brooke Astor.
She had her own identity.
Uh, and but she was my grandmother.
In the country and especially in Maine where we’d just go hiking.
She would just peel up mountains and we’re talking this went on for decades.
Anthony Marshall was the product of her first marriage.
[00:02:39] Phillip Marshall: He did not quite live up to her expectations.
She was clearly, cognitively declining, what would eventually be diagnosed as Alzheimer’s.
She had no idea what was happening to her.
I am, feel I’m losing my mind.
I would rather die than feel this way.
Oh, you know, this, and he didn’t want that.
[00:03:55] Will Johnson: Phillip Marshall starts having conversations with his grandmother’s staff members.
Among the first, her butler, Chris Ely who Phillip met with secretly, outside of the home.
We didn’t know, at first I had no idea, could I trust people?
It was a part of isolation, and there were two, one nurse was on duty.
And um, the staff told me that my father had sold the painting.
[00:05:17] Will Johnson: What was the painting of, if I might ask?
That, she loved that painting.
She had so, so you know, so much undue influence had been imposed on her.
Here she thinks she’s being completely broke and he’s just selling stuff left and right.
And because what am I going to do at that point?
It’s like, whoa.
What is happening here?
He was walking out of her apartment with pretty much whatever he wanted.
It’s like whoa, this is so bad, and it all adds up slowly.
It was like, “What do they want?
Tell them I will pay them to leave.”
His vocabulary has evolved.
The case goes to civil court.
[00:08:30] Phillip Marshall: And we didn’t know where we were on this, okay?
You know, I didn’t know what side, and they didn’t know where I was.
There was a, and it was the staff who really started.
I couldn’t just pick up the phone and call them.
I didn’t really know them.
[00:09:24] Will Johnson: So this is a civil trial.
Phillips wants his father out of his grandmother’s house, money, and life.
That one clause catapulted us from case to cause.
We were no–, we’d saved, I’d saved my grandmother.
She was in the country, okay?
Liz Loewy was the head of the Elder Abuse Unit with the Manhattan DA’s office.
She is passionate about protecting seniors from financial exploitation and elder abuse.
[00:10:33] Liz Loewy: Elder abuse is a huge problem, and it’s a growing problem.
There are sex crimes that involve older victims, and neglect cases that also can be criminal.
There’s emotional abuse that can involve an older person.
And then there’s, of course, financial exploitation involving older victims.
[00:11:01] Will Johnson: Here’s what might surprise you.
Out of this range of forms of abuse, it’s the financial abuse that is the most deadly.
Higher than physical abuse and domestic violence cases.
[00:11:56] Liz Loewy: The exploiters are smart.
The last time he spoke to his father was at the trial.
There was mandatory sentence of at least a year in prison.
And uh, and he ended up in prison.
[00:12:57] Will Johnson: He was sentenced to a year and then how long was he there?
[00:13:05] Will Johnson: And then he subsequently passed away.
[00:13:11] Will Johnson: You did?
[00:13:12] Phillip Marshall: Yeah.
But it cost you.
And that today victims of this crime may be strangers.
Isolation is one of the biggest issues.
You know, basically renew that relationship that you have with seniors.
[00:14:28] Because you’re going to be there soon enough if you’re lucky also.
[00:14:44] Phillip Marshall: I cannot believe what he did to his mother.
He never sought forgiveness.
And he said, “I suppose.”
[00:15:32] Will Johnson: Did you love your father?
[00:15:35] Phillip Marshall: Yes.
Yeah, I felt so sorry for him.
I felt really, really sorry for how, how things have not worked out.
[00:15:48] Will Johnson: Was your father in need of that much money?
[00:15:52] Phillip Marshall: No.
[00:15:56] Phillip Marshall: … 50 million already.
[00:15:57] Will Johnson: He was doing okay.
[00:15:58] Phillip Marshall: He was doing fine.
He did not need another 100 million or whatever.
No, he was doing just fine.
[00:16:07] Will Johnson: I’d like to bring Jilenne Gunther into our conversation.
She is director of BankSafe at AARP.
Thanks for being here today.
[00:16:12] Jilenne: Thanks for having me.
The average victim loses about 120,000 dollars.
If you’re a family member, you have that already.
You know where the money is, you’ve already gained that trust.
Um, perpetrators of this crime are just like predators in the wild.
They’re looking for that, they’re looking for the weakness to exploit.
Has there been a loss of spouse?
And has there been cognitive decline, and is there isolation?
[00:18:07] Jilenne Gunther: I think one of the biggest things is to prevent isolation.
Um, and they’ll start an investigation to look into the financial exploitation and stop it.
And you could find out what the adult protective services unit is in your state by going to eldercare.acl.locator.gov.
[00:19:24] Will Johnson: So that is, so you see this all the time.
[00:19:27] Frank Abagnale: Yeah.
His mother’s very elderly.
Mother doesn’t really understand what’s going on.
She’s not going to know it.
She’s not going to miss it.
The son was taking advantage of her.
I think that’s a very smart individual who does that.
[00:21:58] Will Johnson: … cautious.
She manages the Fraud Watch connection Facebook page, and she sees it all.
Jen, how are you?
[00:22:09] Jen Beam: Hi, Will.
(inaudible)
[00:22:11] Will Johnson: Do you hear about it all?
[00:22:12] Jen Beam: I hear about it all, yes, I’m on the frontlines.
[00:22:25] Jen Beam: That’s right.
So, um, it’s kind of the lowest of the low, pretty terrible.
[00:23:16] Will Johnson: Yeah, you know, of course.
Those are all in there, so if your mother’s maiden name, that kind of information.
So actual criminals were reading the obituary and then you know casing these houses during the funeral hours.
[00:24:40] Will Johnson: Alright, Jen.
[00:24:47] Jen Beam: Well put.
[00:24:50] Will Johnson: And Jen Beam is with the Fraud Watch online grid Facebook page.
Thanks again, Jen.
[00:24:54] Jen Beam: Thank you.
For AARP - The Perfect Scam, I’m Will Johnson.
For instance, if you are looking for a job you are more vulnerable to a work-at-home scam.
