Your Father's Bank Account Has About Nine Hundred Alerts!

Bert's bank manager reveals that they have placed hundreds of fraud alerts on Bert's accounts to protect his assets from elder financial abuse. Mark has Bert buy a recreational vehicle for him, under the guise of emergency housing. Bert lies to Brooke about its ownership, then family friend Vicky discovers the truth. Brooke realizes the full architecture of Mark's strategy: create crises for Bert, blame Brooke for them, then swoop in as the only one who can solve them. Featured experts: Dr. Josh Budlovski on the red flags families should watch for and why isolated seniors are at the highest risk because predators thrive in isolation, and Charlotte Salomon on the surge of estate litigation now flooding the courts as cases like this one play out across the country.

Beware Mysterious Mark is a Radio Sidney production. This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors Program.

Show notes, episode transcripts and resources: mark.radiosidney.ca

Contact: info@radiosidney.ca

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Beware Mysterious Mark. This 10-part series is a harrowing, true account of elder financial abuse. Some of what you'll hear may be unsettling. That's intentional. Because this can happen to anyone, your parent, your partner, your friend. Our goal is to expose how these schemes work, reveal the warning signs, and help you stop it before it happens to someone you love. So listen closely. Awareness is your first line of defense. In our last episode, Bert legally and secretly shared his half of the Cooper family home with Donna. And Donna lied to Bert's psychiatrist and social worker. And now episode 9, titled Your Father's Bank Account has About 900 Alerts. Here's our storyteller Nancy Miles.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Time for me to add to the cacophony in our lives. Two days later, I challenged my father-in-law of over 40 years. Finally, neither planned nor recorded. Bert confronted me while I was over at Poplar Hill replacing a garden tool. During over 30 minutes of arguing, I tried to remind him of the facts, make him understand that Brooke wasn't the author of all his woes, and to insist he recognize Mark and Donna's lies and financial exploitation. Bert's derogatory and aggressive responses were staggering. The Englishman with the public school education now spouted the same misogynistic crap as Mark. I admit neither of us covered ourselves in glory, but sadly I no longer recognized the old man who thumped his fist and swore at me over and over again. Biking home, I was extremely shaken by Bert's animosity and sadly recalled that I was once the only non-cooper mentioned in his previous will. Man, it just shows how a nefarious influence can warp a vulnerable person's perception. I was crushed. Unfortunately, summer vacations and COVID restrictions slowed Bert's second assessment to a crawl. For a short while, Brooke was kept informed, mostly by social worker Jason, and he divulged a new development. Mark and Bert had just attempted to access Bert's health records, but had been refused because Bert was considered vulnerable and abuse suspected. But then the social worker suggested something shocking. The health authority considered there was now a genuine risk of Bert's case going to court. Of course, it wasn't Brook threatening a lawsuit, but we could guess who was and on whose behalf. After that, it felt like a thick curtain came down separating communications between Brooke and all the health professionals. We were horrified and troubled and became uneasy, feeling our position was starting to fail. Vicki visited Bert within a week of his return from hospital. Bert was despondent, touching his hands to his temples and saying, I've got holes in my head and Brooks in control. We're in a legal mess, and Donna and I are going to the lawyer tomorrow. A couple of days later, Vicky found Bert happy and relaxed on his deck, enjoying bird song. So what happened? We didn't know, but suspected the usual threatening calls and sneaky maneuvers transpiring in the background. Vicky found another note at Poplar Hill, asking Bert's GP to declare him capable of changing his will, suggesting Dr. Coupard just use her prescription pad. The note was typed, so obviously prepared by Mark or Donna. Our confusion and frustration grew over the summer as Brooke remained in the dark. In late July, Dr. Coupard supplied us with two worrying comments. First, Bert's refusal to involve Brooke in his assessment was extremely unusual and worrying. Second, the hospital team was struggling whether to consider undue influence as part of Bert's evaluation, because as Jason had claimed, it was all getting to be legal. We were at a loss. Was it possible that hospital professionals could ignore the proven flaming red flags of abuse by Mark and Donna? The ones so obvious to a number of their legal counterparts that they rejected Bert as a client. It only took eight weeks. Bert's lawyer claimed Dr. Becker's letter was written when Bert was ill and in hospital. Both lies. We were immediately incensed and then floored. The lawyer provided a new capacity assessment for Bert, issued by a private psychologist and paid for by Bert. The psychologist stated that Bert was capable of making informed decisions about financial and healthcare matters. This assessment was based on cognitive tests, an interview and corroborating information submitted by you guessed it, Mark Marshall. As a result, Bert Cooper revoked Brooke's power of attorney, but his lawyer did not reveal the new power of attorney. To add additional injury, this occurred on Brooke's birthday. We were flabbergasted. And then later exasperated because our friend and spy Vicky learned two new valuable points. She spotted an invoice for the clinic on Bert's kitchen table and snapped a photo for us. The fee was six hundred dollars. I learned the usual fee was twelve hundred. Then a few days later, Bert crowed to Vicky that he only needed to speak with the doctor for half an hour to be declared capable. Now, compare this brief and paid-for evaluation to Bert's in-depth capacity assessment with the professionals at the Health Authority. This included several visits and tests with the occupational therapist, a number of visits from the social worker, visits with his GP, multiple in-hospital diagnostic tests and scans, eight days in hospital regularly attended by staff and psychiatrist, and at least four hours with Bert's attending psychiatrist, Dr. Becker. Jesus wept. So now four huge questions loomed. One, how could the in-office assessment of this privately paid mere psychologist trump that of Bert's independent medical team led by a medical doctor specializing in psychiatry? Two, how could Bert's lawyer fail in his due diligence to speak with Bert's GP and to discover that Bert was neither ill nor in hospital when Dr. Becker's letter was issued? Three, how could the psychologist blindly accept Mark's evidence of Bert's family history and his relationship with his daughter without even asking Brooke? And finally, did Mark and Donna disclose Dr. Becker's letter to Burt's lawyer as is legally and let's be honest, morally necessary when said lawyer assisted Bert in severing the title to the family home? We didn't get any answers. Burt's entire capability assessment by the local health authority now seemed dead in the water. Although we didn't have details, we had to presume that Dr. X did not support Dr. Becker's diagnosis, and thus the psychologist's report of capacity won the day. Bottom line, Bert Cooper was now once again legally capable. And his daughter Brooke was cut off at the knees and no longer in the loop. But surprise, surprise, Bert's bank was still in the fight. The bank stated that it could refuse to accept a power of attorney or a POA's instructions if financial abuse is suspected, and that's exactly what they did. As our local branch manager explained to Brooke, the bank would maintain the status quo to protect Bert's accounts until someone provided them with more evidence of Bert's capability. This meant keeping Brooke on as Bert's POA with a new caveat. In order for Brooke to remove any funds from her dad's accounts, she would have to make an appointment and provide the amount and justification in writing. The bank's decision was prescient because we learned that Mark had been busy. First, good old Vicky discovered Mark had brazenly amended Dr. Becker's official letter with his own handwritten edition, claiming Bert was capable of financial decision making. Second, Mark took Bert into the bank and tried yet again to open a joint investing account, most likely to receive Bert's money. This, like the previous two attempts, the bank immediately refused. And third, in November, Mark marched into the bank manager Daniel's office, repeating the lie that he was both a lawyer and an attorney, and then demanded exceptions to the bank's position. The manager's response was actually entertaining.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

You know, Brooke, your father's account has about 900 alerts on it right now. So Merck comes in, quotes all kinds of law decisions. I couldn't really call him out in any of that, but frankly, I don't believe anything this guy tells me. So, you know, we got into it a little bit. Then I finally told Mark that if he was a lawyer, he'd know there are no exceptions.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Result? Another rejection. Bert was again informed he needed Brooke to access his accounts, but he angrily refused. Brooke was shaken. Realizing her dad was so persuaded by Mark, he often chose to be without money rather than ask her for help. Craziness never stopped. In early November, Brooke had noticed a large recreational vehicle parked in the Poplar Hill driveway, but decided to ignore it. On the 17th, both Brooke and Vicky dropped by. While Vicki cleaned the kitchen, Brooke and her dad discussed the amount of money he needed to pay his recent expenses.

SPEAKER_04 12:08

As Brooke prepared the necessary note for the bank, her dad said So I've been shaking like a jelly. This pressure, you know, I hate being in debt.

SPEAKER_06 12:20

Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_04 12:22

We're looking after for the time being, a trailer.

SPEAKER_06 12:25

Oh, I wondered about that.

SPEAKER_04 12:27

Yeah, I I think what we're thinking is they'll live in there if I get sick.

SPEAKER_06 12:33

But you're feeling okay, aren't you?

SPEAKER_04 12:36

Fine, I I'm feeling fine. I just have all these shakes from all this pressure about money.

SPEAKER_06 12:43

Vicky said to me, and I agree. If we could end this house business somehow.

SPEAKER_04 12:49

That would be great.

SPEAKER_06 12:50

You should be having fun, Dad.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

But as the conversation continued, Bert began repeating many of his usual crazy ideas. This discussion ended with an unresolved argument over who could better look after the house. Brooke and me or Donna and Mark. Brooke just gave up and left. An hour later, Vicky dropped in for coffee and quickly set Brooke straight.

SPEAKER_05 13:22

You know your father lied about the trailer. What? Well, I know he told you they were just storing it for a friend. But that's a lie. After you left, your father told me he bought it. Dad bought the RV? I'm sorry, darling, but yes, your father bought it. He owns it. And the dear old man also said, I don't want anybody living with me in this house. But when I need Donna and Mark, they'll be there in the trailer.

SPEAKER_06 13:51

Oh my God. Finally get it. Dad wants Donna and Mark living in the trailer instead of with him in Poplar Hill. But he's in no hurry. Yeah, he kept them at bay for close to two years. Yes, he did. Poor old guy. He resisted all their efforts.

SPEAKER_05 14:08

Relentless.

SPEAKER_06 14:09

But now that Donna's got her name on the title to Poplar Hill, he's stuck. That's huge. Yeah. They aren't gonna move anywhere else. They're sitting pretty with their hands on our house, and Dad's cornered. It's disgraceful. You know, Vic? I can see Mark's entire strategy. Mark wants a house paid for by someone else, Spots Dad, elderly man, failing wife, and really, just me as competition. Oh yeah, darling. You were in Mark's way. And bingo, you've got the perfect situation for elder abuse.

SPEAKER_05 14:45

And as soon as your mom's gone, hard luck Donna's all over your dad like a rash. And somehow, through love bombing, they convinced your father that they were his true family, and that no one else wants to look after him. And then out of the blue comes COVID.

SPEAKER_06 15:02

Yep. A godsend for them. So Mark's pattern is to create a crisis for Dad, blaming me for it, and then he swoops in to save Dad from me. Always playing the hero.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Later that afternoon, Brooke returned to Poplar Hill with $2,500 in cash to pay Bert's bills. Bert was thrilled and thanked Brooke a number of times. Chatting further was impossible because Mark was there, noticeably miffed that Brooke had helped her dad. In the past, a purchase like the RV would have been an interesting topic of family conversation for weeks. She, her dad, and I would have gone scouting a few times, before Bert and Diane made the decision. But that was then. Now it's obviously hit and miss as to whether Bert was comfortable with Brooke and comfortable with telling her the truth. Brooke was concerned, since her dad was now legally unable to make any major financial purchases without her involvement. So how did he manage to get the money for the RV? The answer finally emerged eight days later, when Bert called Brooke, panicked and breathless with worry.

SPEAKER_04 16:28

I'm in debt here with someone for for $19,000. What?

SPEAKER_06 16:35

I can't get it, so I don't Who do you owe the $18,000 to?

SPEAKER_04 16:40

Oh th this man. I bought a trailer of him.

SPEAKER_06 16:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 16:44

We're waiting to pay. Mark says my money will be in Zoom.

SPEAKER_06 16:48

Really?

SPEAKER_04 16:48

Yeah, it's it's it it's an emergency trailer. We're we're packing it in case of things going wrong.

SPEAKER_06 16:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 16:56

If I fall down or something happens, and Mark and Donna have to come over.

SPEAKER_06 17:02

Well, I can go down to the bank, then he should be paid, right?

SPEAKER_04 17:06

Yes, dear. He's you know, I expected to pay him three weeks ago.

SPEAKER_06 17:10

Oh dear. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 17:12

Well I wanted to make it I don't know. I I've forgotten his name. Um I I know his first name. Bob. I was going to go to the bank this afternoon.

SPEAKER_06 17:23

Do you have his last name and a bill of sale?

SPEAKER_04 17:26

Yes, I can get the last name from Mark.

SPEAKER_06 17:31

Is this some friend of Mark?

SPEAKER_04 17:33

Oh. We decided that in should there be some sort of an emergency. I thought something goes wrong. Someone's staying to help me. We got we found this trailer. I wasn't too keen, but I'm sure it's a very good price and it's in beautiful condition. And and it's winterized, you know. So you know, they can stay in it in the in the winter.

SPEAKER_06 17:59

Instead of living in the house. Is that the idea?

SPEAKER_04 18:02

Yes. If anything happens to the house or anything like that, it may survive. I'm talking earthquake or it's an emergency.

SPEAKER_06 18:11

Really? An emergency trailer? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:15

Well, it it it's out there now, you know.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Okay. Of course. An emergency trailer. A tin can on wheels that Bert thought might survive an earthquake that would have crushed his semi-custom bungalow five feet away. Really, I can't make this stuff up. There are just so many elements off here. Even though Brooke is Bert's daughter and an acted power of attorney, Mark is continuing to secretly pressure Bert to allow them to live on the Poplar Hill property. Being ensconced in the trailer would put Donna and Mark within spitting distance of Poplahill's front door. So now here we are with Bert, an elderly man who hates to be in debt. He's shaking like a jelly for three weeks because he owes $18,000 or so dollars. Clearly, Bert doesn't understand why the bank's still freezing his money, despite Mark's promises. As the manager told Brooke, your father can't even get five bucks. Brooke's caught in a Gordian knot. She cannot tell her dad the truth about the bank's position because it's all down to his best friend Mark. And obviously Mark won't tell him. Brooke quickly made one phone call and immediately learned that the local municipality prohibited anyone from living in recreational vehicles in the Poplar Hill area. When Brooke headed over to tell her dad that the RV idea was unworkable, she experienced a glimmer of fatherly concern. Though disappointed, Bert said he would tell Mark for her, because Mark would blame Brooke for the setback. Unfortunately, Bert shifted the conversation to the ownership issue of Poplar Hill again. And again, Brooke said she loved the property, that it was her family home and filled with memories. Bert was unmoved. Instead, he just responded that Brooke could die from COVID and that Donna loved Poplar Hill. As usual, Bert's in a quandary, declaring that he didn't want to live with Donna and Mark in Poplar Hill, but that he wanted to live with them in Orca Bay. His reasoning chilled Brooke, but confirmed her suspicion that her dad knew he was in a jam now that he shared half ownership of Poplar Hill with Donna.

SPEAKER_04 21:04

I've got to sell them the idea of moving. I have to find a house that they'll like. Donna is determined to get this house. I'm so upset.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

Brooke was expecting to take her dad to the bank, but Bert didn't follow up. Instead, Brooke spent several anxious days worrying about him and the late payment for the RV. The next time she spoke to her dad was on December 1st, when an icy voiced Bert revealed he'd found the necessary money and paid for the RV, but refused to provide any details. Why her dad was suddenly so cold and distant, Brooke had no idea. During all these financial shenanigans, it became obvious to us that our banks represent one Of the front lines when it comes to noticing and responding to financial abuse. We don't precisely know what happened next, but we learned in early December that Bert's bank finally accepted the revocation of Brooks' POA for her dad. We were in the dark as to how or why. Remarkably, though, the bank maintained a freeze on Bert's accounts for another nine months. So in total, they secured Bert's assets from Mark and Donna for over 17 months. I love imagining Mark's frustrated reaction. So that's really as much as I can tell you about Mark and Donna's exploits with Bert's bank. A lot of other stuff happened, much of which we weren't privy to, and some of which we won't reveal due to our friend confidentiality. Nonetheless, you've now been baptized in the murky waters where incapacity assessments intersect with the legal, financial, and medical professions. And nearly five years later, we're still swimming in these shadowy, mark-infested waters. We were in big trouble after Bert Cooper revoked Brooke as his power of attorney and as his health representative in December of 2020. Learning of Bert's actions, both GP Dr. Kupar and social worker Jason advised Brooke to again request the involvement of the public guardian and trustee, aka the PGT. So now in early 2021, we slipped into black hole number two. We nicknamed Close Encounters with the PGT. Brooke had three options to continue to try and protect her dad and his assets from Mark and Donna. One, take her dad to civil court, a non-starter for Brooke. Two, ask the public guardian to evaluate all our evidence and independently assess Bert's ability to manage his finances. Three, give up. We chose option two, with the understanding that if the PGT concluded that Bert could not manage his own finances, he would be permitted to live in his own home, but his finances would be controlled by the independent government agency and safe from any individual's manipulation, including Brooke, Mark, and Donna. So, in late January, Brooke reached out to the same PGT representative she had spoken to the previous year. After some questioning, the rep informed Brooke that the PGT would consider investigating based on the following points. Brooke was no longer her dad's power of attorney, Bert had considerable financial assets, and Bert was deemed confused and vulnerable and at the beck and call of two manipulative people. We spent hours preparing our information, including listing relevant and telling comments from an extensive number of third-party professionals, held our breath, and perhaps appropriately hit the send button on Groundhog Day.

SPEAKER_00 25:41

Our dramatization continues in the next episode, but now we explore today's theme. The red flags that should raise alarm in any family, why isolated seniors are at the highest risk, and what to do when you notice the warning signs.

unknown 25:56

Dr.

SPEAKER_00 25:57

Josh Budlovsky is a geriatrician practicing in Victoria.

SPEAKER_03 26:13

You know, if somebody's always been very disorganized and flying by the seat of their pants and now they're 80 and disorganized and flying by the seat of their pants, okay. You know, it's still very much be maybe an issue. But what I'm more concerned about potentially is somebody who notices, you know, mom has always been doing this tickety-boo, I've never really given a second thought. And I went over to mom's house and I just noticed all these papers that were disorganized and one said overdue, and you know, so that's a change. It's those changes that really, to me as a geriatrician, I look for. It's like that this is a change from before. Um the other sort of piece in that is are there new people coming into somebody's life? Uh it doesn't have to be new people. Um, it can be family members, unfortunately, that is probably the most common. But you know, red flags have often, you know, younger individual or somebody that they didn't know are seemingly spending a lot of time with mom or dad. And it just, you know, you don't know how this sort of came about, but over the last six months this has become a a new concern. You know, that should raise your um raise your spidey sense or just just raise your level of concern. It is those seniors that are most isolated, uh in whom uh predators uh or or those that are somewhat unscrupulous can can manipulate older adults. And so having some other strategies in place, so talking to mom or dad or whoever it is about you know uh their finances and and things that you might be concerned about. So things like normalizing a pause when you're when you're making big decisions. You know, if somebody says, like, you know, calls up mom and dad and says, Listen, I've got this great opportunity, but you really have to make that decision right here, right now. Saying to mom and dad, listen, I've heard about these scams, no big financial decision should be made, you know, right here, right now. That all big decisions for for anybody, but really for older adults that might be more vulnerable, you should say, like, just normalize a pause. Don't make those decisions when you're first told about it. At least wait a day or two. So that's one thing. Normalize the pause.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

Today's episode featured the voices of Susan Anderson as Nancy, Bill Collins as Daniel, Susan Wilkie as Brooke, Andy Dawson Reed as Bert, and Mary Knox as Vicky. This is a production of Radio Sydney, with support from the Government of Canada's New Horizons program for seniors. The series was produced by Bill Collins, written by Nancy Miles and Brooke Cooper. Dramatization was directed by Matt Watson with sound engineering by Bill Collins. I'm Barry Bowman. Please join us again.