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Attorney General, advocates push to expand financial-exploitation offense for vulnerable adults
Summary
Lawmakers heard testimony supporting House Bill 604 to broaden Maryland's financial-exploitation laws so prosecutors can charge caregivers who siphon money from vulnerable adults without proving deception or coercion and to make convictions trigger exclusion from federal healthcare programs.
The House Judiciary Committee heard extensive testimony Feb. 11 on House Bill 604, a measure the Office of the Attorney General said would make it easier to prosecute caregivers who take property from vulnerable adults. The attorney general's office and allied groups told the committee the bill would let prosecutors charge exploitation when a caregiver deprives a protected adult of property without having to show deception, intimidation or undue influence.
The Attorney General (speaker identified only by title) said current Maryland law requires proof of deception or threat to prove financial exploitation, which leaves a gap when the abuse occurs in a trusting caregiver relationship. Zach Shirley, chief of the Medicaid Fraud and Vulnerable Victims Unit, and Assistant Attorney General Kelly Casper said amendments filed by the OAG would let prosecutors charge both theft and a distinct financial-exploitation offense so they can pursue both wrongs.
AARP Maryland and the Maryland Bankers Association, speaking through Tammy Bresnahan and Robert Enton, urged a favorable report, saying the expansion would increase victim protections and allow federal exclusion of convicted caregivers from Medicare/Medicaid and other programs. Witnesses cited cases in which nursing assistants or home aides stole from patients but could still be hired by care providers because only a basic theft conviction appeared on record.
Committee members asked about family disputes and the risk of criminalizing well-meaning relatives. Shirley and the Attorney General's office said investigators routinely screen complaints and would not bring charges without sufficient evidence; they said many complaints are founded on family conflict but are investigated thoroughly. Lawmakers also asked about a statutory definition of "vulnerable adult" and about carve-outs for family caregivers; the AG's office said the bill relies on existing statutory definitions but is open to technical revisions.
Supporters said the change would allow the state to seek criminal penalties and trigger the mandatory federal exclusion (five years) for certain exploitation convictions, making it harder for convicted offenders to work in long-term care. Opponents were limited at the panel stage; several members pressed for clarifying language on family caregivers and prosecutorial discretion. No formal action or vote was recorded at the hearing.
The bill's sponsors and the OAG indicated willingness to work with the committee on technical language clarifying definitions and family exceptions.
Ending: The committee concluded testimony on HB 604 after roughly an hour of panel testimony; staff and lawmakers said they would circulate the AG's amendment text and continue negotiations.
