There are countless stories of people, especially senior citizens, losing everything to scammers. While some of the criminals operating overseas might never be caught, Montgomery County State鈥檚 Attorney John McCarthy says state lawmakers can take action by making the punishment tougher for those who are captured in Maryland.
McCarthy said Maryland鈥檚 sentencing guidelines do not reflect the seriousness of the crimes he is seeing. He points to cases where seniors have lost their entire life savings.
鈥淚f you are a (first time) offender and you steal over $100,000, the guidelines 鈥� they鈥檙e not mandatory 鈥� are probation to six months,鈥� McCarthy said.
He said that recommendation does not match what prosecutors are confronting, calling the schemes 鈥渙rganized criminal, international activity.鈥�
McCarthy said the current guidelines make the crime worth the risk for scammers.
鈥淐rime shouldn鈥檛 pay. And quite candidly, the way the guidelines are now, crime pays,鈥� McCarthy said.
He said the emotional toll on victims can be crushing. He recalled a case involving a senior who was pushed to the brink after losing everything.
鈥淲e had a victim here who thought about suicide as a result of having lost everything,鈥� McCarthy said.
McCarthy said some victims were pressured by scammers to convert their savings into gold bars before handing them over. That is why he wants lawmakers to create additional protections for consumers, including new requirements for gold bar dealers to identify and report suspicious transactions, similar to what is expected of banks.
鈥淚 think you see patterns of activity that become obvious to you that it’s a scam,鈥� McCarthy said.
He also wants those dealers to notify authorities or warn customers when something appears wrong.
鈥淎lert the police, or at least call to the attention of the account holder that they’re being scammed,鈥� McCarthy said.
McCarthy believes these actions by lawmakers would help prevent more Maryland seniors from losing everything.
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