The Ballarat grandmother, who requested anonymity, has lost between $40,000 and $60,000 after her daughter refused to repay a loan which the elderly woman bankrolled from the sale of her home. She gave up pursuing the money after spending about $3000 on solicitors’ letters, her granddaughter said.

“My aunt had never contacted her for years before that then all of a sudden contacted back, got Nan to sell up, so-called loaned the money,” the granddaughter, who requested anonymity to protect her grandmother, said. 

“Trying to get into accommodation somewhere if you’ve got no money to be paying, that is a bit hard for Nan because she’s also going blind.

“I think if Nan had the money that she could pay for better services for herself.”

The 89-year-old’s only income is the pension, most of which goes towards her seniors’ accommodation, her granddaughter said.

At first she was installed in her grandson’s house, who charged her rent which kept rising. 

“When they decided to put the rent up I think Nan realised something was going on because she wasn’t getting her money back, they were charging her.”

“She rang them one night and they said ‘what money?’ They’ve just kept the money for their own greed and will not have any contact with Nan. They miss her birthdays, Mother’s Day.”

A study by State Trustees revealed men – particularly the eldest son – were most likely to subject family to financial elder abuse.

The study found almost a quarter of Victorians had experienced someone taking advantage of a vulnerable family member or close friend to benefit from their will, or knows an older person that has been mistreated by someone they trusted.

Financial abuse was found to be the most common form of abuse reported however State Trustees Chief executive officer Craig Dent previously told The Courier he also believed financial elder abuse was “the most under reported crime in the state”. 

An elderly Ballarat woman was forced to eat scraps from a bin because her family withheld food and money, an aged care welfare provider said.

The woman’s daughter had pocketed proceeds from the sale of the family home, and moved with her mother into a private rental.

Because of the sale of the house, the elderly woman was ineligible for the pension and had no money of her own. 

Wintringham Specialist Aged Care, which offers services in Ballarat and at Creswick, sees cases of financial elder abuse every week, regional housing support and outreach worker Andrea McCarthy said.

“She didn’t have the capacity to pay for food and was relying on her family. They weren’t providing her with food and she was eating it out of the kitchen bin,” Ms McCarthy said. 

Ms McCarthy has helped another woman whose registered carer took the carer’s allowance on top of charging for food and board but served the woman, who has a serious medical condition, only potato chips and bread. The carer also moved two other people into the property and refused to disclose how much rent they paid.

Her carer and the two other people living in the property would eat full meals in front of her, making her feel invisible, Ms McCarthy said.

“She’s got very high medical needs so her nutrition is being affected greatly. She talks about the emotional distress involved in being invisible. She is already dealing with very serious health issues and the legacy she will now live with as the result of that is being doubly impacted due to the way she’s been treated.”

For advice or assistance contact Wintringham Specialist Aged Care on 9034 4824 or visit www.wintringham.org.au.

A study by State Trustees revealed up to 5 per cent of Australians over 65 have experienced financial abuse.

The research also found that elderly women over the age of 80 are most at risk and their own children are most often their abusers.

Other characteristics of elderly people most vulnerable to financial abuse include: