Edmonton victim speaks out on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Bilked out of her money by a man she thought was a friend, Lois Holland decided to speak out on behalf of other seniors.

"Your first feeling is shock that someone has let you down," said Holland, 79, whotold her story on World Elder Abuse Day, in hopes she can prevent other seniors from being victimized.

"Then you feel embarrassed. You don't want to tell anyone, because they're going to think you're an idiot. You just sit there and it preys on your mind"

She was in the Royal Alexandra Hospital for nearly a year when she befriended an Edmonton taxi driver during her outings.

"I was getting the same driver on a number of occasions," she said. "We got chatting ... and he asked about my family. I told him they were scattered and they didn't bother with me anymore. He didn't like that much, and said that I reminded him of his mother and he would take care of getting me where I needed to go."

The cab driver did just that, for nearly two years. He drove Holland where she needed to go and even ran errands to the store. She would give him her bank card, and he'd return with receipts. There were no problems.

"It was right to the penny, there was no indication that he was anything except very honest," said Holland, who began to think of the man as family. "I was invited to his home, I met his wife. I spent Christmas with them, you know, the whole thing."

Eventually she gave the man power of attorney. Things changed when she came into a bit of money.

"When I got a sizeable rebate from Revenue Canada over something that I'd been working on for a number of years, he was aware that I had some extra money. And before I knew it, he had taken most of this money from my account."

Holland said she confronted the man.

"He promised this would never happen again, it was just unfortunate circumstances that had forced him to this. And he had really need this money for something. So I didn't push it, and I believed him."

The next time Holland went into hospital, she discoveredher bank accounts had been drained.

Det. Alf Ma with the Edmonton police senior protection unit said Holland's bank noticed some irregular activity and brought it to their attention.

"By the time we finished our investigation, approximately $10,000 was taken from her account," he said.

The 59-year-old man wascharged Wednesday with theft over $5,000.

But an arrest wouldn't have been possible had the bank and Holland not spokenup, something Ma said doesn't happen often enough.

"People don't want to talk," he said. "It is something that remains behind closed doors. But nothing happens if nobody comes forward. It's unfortunate that elder abuse is underreported. We know this because the majority of these investigations are not reported by the seniors themselves."

Last month, the police elder abuse unit charged a 53-year-old Edmonton man with allegedly stealing $265,000 from his 94-year-old grandmother, who had given him power of attorney.

As for Holland, she said she hoped speaking out would take away the stigma for other seniors.

"You're not stupid, you're not silly. You may be lost a little bit but you really have to do something about it. At some point,you have to stand up and be counted.

Seniors who suspect they are being abused financially, mentally or physically are encouraged to contact police.