Senate Bill (SB) 382 creates the Senior Consumer Protection Act, which provides that financial exploitation of senior citizens 60 years and older includes control over properties or illegal misuse of assets through fraud, extortion or intimidation.

“Passing this bill is the right thing to do for our Hoosier seniors,” said Sen. Lanane. “I’m appreciative that the Attorney General has joined me in this effort to penalize those who take advantage of the elderly.”

SB 382 is an effort in collaboration with Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and would authorize the involvement of the Indiana Attorney General in seeking means to protect seniors from dissipation of assets.

Individuals who commit financial abuse of seniors would have their assets frozen, be issued an injunction and have to pay investigation or prosecution costs. The bill would also increase civil penalty costs from $50 to up to $5,000 per violation. Violations of trust, including spouses, children and attorneys would result in stiffer penalties.

After unanimously passing out of both the Senate Committee on Civil Law and the full Senate, SB 382 will move to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

Sen. Lanane represents Indiana Senate District 25 includes the portions of Madison and Delaware counties, including the City of Muncie and the southeastern portion of the City of Anderson. For more information on Sen. Lanane, his legislative agenda or other State Senate business call 1-800-382-9467 or visit www.IN.gov/S25 .

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Note: Audio from Sen. Lanane can be heard below:

SEN. LANANE: “It’s a good bill because it fills a gap which sometimes exists where seniors are not able to have those cases prosecuted…"
http://www.in.gov/legislative/senate_democrats/files/audio/LananeSeniorProtection021913.MP3
Length (00:21)

NOTE: A photo of Sen. Tim Lanane can be downloaded at http://www.in.gov/legislative/senate_democrats/images/headshots/Lanane.JPG