Elder Law in Florida

We always recommend that risk management and security personnel join our supporting financial associations. One such organization is the International Association of Financial Crime Investigators (IAFCI). Recently, IAFCI collaborated with law enforcement to pass a new law in Florida, which you can download here.   This law allows financial institutions to withhold funds that are suspected to be involved in fraud. In Florida, if a bank determines through questioning that a person is involved in a romance scam, pig butchering, or any other type of fraud, they can hold the funds for 15 days if the person is over the age of 65. We hope this will become a model for other states to enact similar protections for the elderly population.   Often when teaching we are asked by attendees how to convince someone who is involved in a scam to believe them. In Florida, you no longer have to try to convince them or close their account; you can put a hold on the transaction. We anticipate that many lawsuits will follow when a financial institution becomes heavy-handed or allows someone without a background in fraud to make the decision. However, we believe this will be offset by the number of elder accountholders fraud departments can save going forward.   As a side note for banks in Florida, keep track of everyone you block and the total amount of dollars saved. When providing your annual report to the board, be sure to include these numbers and amounts saved by your security personnel. This will help you support the budget for future security initiatives.