SCHotline Press Releases

News Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: John Legare
Public Information Coordinator
803-734-9917

Lt. Governor Bauer Announces the Closing of South Carolina’s Borders to Senior Fraud

(Columbia, S.C. May 8, 200 Lt. Governor André Bauer joined senior officials from state and local government, representatives from private industry and non-profit organizations, law enforcement officers and partners in the senior network to put shady businesses and scam artists on notice that “South Carolina is closing its borders to senior fraud,” at a news conference on the north steps of the Statehouse this morning.

The Lt. Governor’s Task Force on Senior Fraud was formed to combat the alarming number of calls and reports of fraud impacting South Carolina’s senior population. Currently there are more than 40 agencies, individuals and organizations signed on as members of the Lt. Governor’s Task Force on Senior Fraud.
“We already have a diverse group represented on the Task Force and it grows every day. I want to develop a stronger group that can take on these unscrupulous individuals at all levels of government to insure that they do not slip through the cracks,” Lt. Governor Bauer said following the news conference Thursday.
The ultimate goal of the Task Force on Senior Fraud is to stop fraud and crime from being perpetrated on seniors. This will be carried out through an educational campaign that lets every senior know about the perils of fraud and scams and that by reporting perpetrators to authorities, their actions will be investigated and charges will rise from their crimes.

“We want South Carolina to be known by the crooks and scammers as the state to avoid because we are serious about protecting our seniors and we will put you in jail. Today, we begin to close South Carolina’s borders to senior fraud,” Bauer said.

For more information on the Lt. Governor’s Task Force on Senior Fraud, visit the Office on Aging website www.aging.sc.gov/scams. The webpage contains a list of Task Force members, examples of the most common types of scams and fraud reported in South Carolina and links to important partners and organizations to work to protect seniors.
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Media Advisory

May 8, 2008

Contact: John Legare

Public Information Coordinator

803-734-9917

All media are invited to a news conference announcing the formation of the Lt. Governor’s Task Force on Senior Fraud at 10:30this morning on the north steps of the Statehouse.

Lt. Governor Bauer will be joined by senior officials from state and local government, representatives from private industry and non-profit organizations, law enforcement officers and our friends in the senior network to put shady businesses and scam artists on notice that “South Carolina is closing its borders to senior fraud.”

For more information on the Lt. Governor’s Task Force on Senior Fraud visit www.aging.sc.gov/scams.