Chairman Rick Scott of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, led a committee field hearing in Miami-Dade County titled, “Protecting Florida’s Seniors: Fighting Fraud and Financial Exploitation.” This hearing covered the growing threat that scams and financial fraud pose to aging Americans while discussing ways to strengthen protections for our senior citizens, and best practices for prevention, improved reporting, and coordinated responses to fraud to better understand how community outreach, education, and enforcement have the ability to protect our aging community.
This hearing followed the committee’s release of the 2025 Fraud Report, highlighting the alarming rise in scams, and in particularly sophisticated schemes that utilize artificial intelligence. In 2024 alone, frauds and scams cost seniors over $4.8 billion, with those aged 50-59 losing an additional $2.5 billion. Chairman Scott recently announced new legislation he is leading, the STOP Scammers Act and the GUARD Act, to combat fraud and financial scams targeting our seniors.
Chairman Scott welcomed expert witnesses: Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz; Jeff Johnson, state director for AARP Florida; Kathy Kraninger, president and chief executive officer of the Florida’s Bankers Association, and Brandy Bauer, joint center director for the State Health Insurance Assistance Program Technical Assistance Center and the Senior Medicare Patrol National Resource Center. These experts and advocates highlighted how expanded public awareness, stronger community-based interventions, and improved coordination among caregivers, health professionals, and law enforcement can enhance early detection, reporting, and prevention of elder abuse, drawing from successful state-level initiatives that could serve as national models.
Watch Chairman Scott’s full remarks HERE or by clicking the image below.
Read more HERE. Lea más información AQUÍ.
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