When Michael McCray heard from contractors that his mother might face prosecution for writing bounced checks, he knew something inexplicable had happened.
What he couldn't know at the time was how the situation would become a resolution that could reshape how states handle cases of elder abuse and financial fraud.
McCray's mother is Dr. Jacquelyn McCray, an Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame inductee who was instrumental in shaping the future of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff into one of Central Arkansas' premier colleges. She is now living with dementia, and this, McCray says, was the opening that allowed someone to gain access to a fund held at Simmons Bank, drain it, and close the account.
When McCray began investigating, he said it was almost impossible to get anyone to respond.
"We didn't start off throwing rocks. We started off with a tap on the shoulder, and we just had some questions. And essentially the questions went ignored by the local bank. [We] made an inquiry and filed a report with the local police department, which did not assign an investigator for like three years," McCray told Little Rock Public Radio. "[We] filed with the state Department of Human Services, the adult protection unit, and the interesting thing about what they did was they assigned an investigator, but they refused to interview me, the power of attorney."
McCray said he was told the policy was to separate the caretaker from the patient in cases of abuse, so that the caretaker wouldn't be able to intimidate the patient.
"It becomes impossible for the dementia patient to describe the financial exploitation without some assistance," said McCray. "Essentially, there was an investigation that never dealt with, never considered the power of attorney, the trust attorney, the forestry management company."
McCray shared his concern with the Pine Bluff NAACP branch, where he serves as Public Relations chair. It filed a resolution to create an affirmative duty to find, get involved in, and document these kinds of cases.
The NAACP has now adopted that resolution nationwide as "Designated Economic Development Resolution Number 12," a resolution McCray says will help identify the scope of these kinds of elder abuse cases.
"First, it tells them to be on the lookout. Then two, it tells them to document these incidents so we can get a more accurate account of what's going on," McCray said. "Theoretically, that could lead to, I don't know, class action lawsuits, you know. Who knows, if we start to see a pattern.
McCray and Pine Bluff Branch Chapter President Ivan Whitfield are now working with their state representatives to file legislation to reform state laws related to suspected elder abuse and financial fraud.
"Rep. Ken Ferguson has been working with me specifically on this case. He's probably done the most, and I believe state Rep. Glenn Barnes may also be working on it. They may be working together on this," said McCray.
Though he says his mother has not yet received restitution in her ongoing case, McCray says he hopes Arkansas code can be reformed in the future to provide a better-defined process for identifying and investigating these kinds of cases.
