‘It is so important that we efficiently identify and bring awareness to these scams.’
U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody is touting her work as former Florida Attorney General protecting seniors from those who may take advantage of them, suggesting her work could be used as a national model.
At a U.S. Senate hearing on Awareness to Action: Combating Elder Abuse & Neglect before the Special Committee on Aging Wednesday, Moody recounted her own experience as the Sunshine State’s top law enforcement administrator. One of her top priorities was fighting scams that ripped off seniors.
“As Florida’s Attorney General, I personally heard many heartbreaking stories of scammers and fraudsters taking advantage of seniors in Florida and stealing significant sums of their hard-earned savings,” Moody said. “Unfortunately, we know there are many more stories we haven’t heard as these cases are often unreported. It is so important that we efficiently identify and bring awareness to these scams, encourage our seniors to come forward and develop effective programs to bring scammers to justice.”
The Republican Moody was Attorney General in Florida before she was appointed to U.S. Senator by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year after Marco Rubio advanced to Secretary of State in the Donald Trump administration.
Moody said at least 1 in 10 seniors will likely undergo some abuse, according to estimates. But she added only about 7% of those cases will be addressed by law enforcement. Florida has more than 5 million seniors living in the state.
Moody, as Attorney General, led the establishment of the Senior Protection Team in 2019 to fight civil, criminal and health care fraud targeting seniors.
Earlier this month, Moody and other Senators on the Special Committee on Aging agreed to send a letter to Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secret Service Director Sean Curran demanding more coordinated efforts to bust foreign networks organizing international scams targeting the elderly.
“We write to express concern over the increasing prevalence of financial scams targeting older Americans that originate abroad,” the letter, dated July 18, read. “Fraud schemes targeting seniors cost victims over $3.4 billion annually, robbing them of their life savings and security. These scams often involve international perpetrators and require a coordinated federal response to effectively prevent further harm.”
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