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Austin man charged with exploitation of his grandmother

A 78-year-old victim lost thousands of dollars when her grandson drained her bank account, police said.

AUSTIN, Texas — Older adults are vulnerable and scammers will take any chance they can get to steal money. 

In Austin, a grandson was just charged with stealing from his 78-year-old grandmother. 

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Court records show Audi Jaye Ramirez was named his grandmother's power of attorney, which gave Ramirez access and control over her finances and real property. 

As power of attorney, Ramirez added himself to his grandmother's bank account. Investigators said between 2018 and 2019, there had been more then $100,000 withdrawn from the grandmother's account, including four cashiers checks. 

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The victim said she did not authorize any of those checks and she didn't understand how the money was withdrawn without her permission. 

In 2019, the victim realized her bank account was nearly empty.

The court documents show Ramirez is charged with Exploitation of the Elderly.

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Family Eldercare's Director of Development and Communications, Brittany Baize, said one of their key programs is money management.

"Our prefrontal cortex and our executive function, that's what controls our ability to manage our finances," said Baize. "And so this is why you see older adults falling prey to scams, financial scams for fraud and abuse because it's literally a brain function that starts to retire as we age."

Baize said this happens more than people know and if something feels wrong, report it. Family Eldercare will do what it can to help. 

"There are supports out there for you and if you don't have family members or a trusted network, organizations like Family Eldercare exist to help you," said Baize.

If you need to report abuse, you can contact the Adult Protective Services at (800) 252-5400.

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