Two things form the bedrock of any open society - freedom of expression and rule of law. If you don't have those things, you don't have a free country.
- Salman Rushdie
On March 5, 2025, I was scheduled to attend a webinar presented by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) entitled “Social Isolation and Financial Exploitation in Older Age.” The webinar did not take place; last month, another CFPB webinar, “Cognitive Decline, and Elder Financial Exploitation,” was canceled. The CFPB’s Office for Older Americans offered a six-part webinar series on protecting older adults from financial exploitation. The series started in January with titles such as: Protecting Older Adults from Check Fraud; Government Imposter Scams and Older Adults; Solar Financing and Consumer Protection for Older Adults; Reverse Mortgages, Home Equity Investment Products, and Consumer Protection for Older Adults. The Trump Administration ordered the CFPB to stop its work and close its building as one of the many federal agencies deemed “excessive.” I feel as if the CFPB is being held captive by our government from average citizens like me who rely on their experts and knowledge to better serve my clients.
My first encounter with CFPB was in 2018 when the Maryland State Bar Association asked for volunteer lawyers to present seminars using the CFPB Money Smart for Older Adults PowerPoint program to inform the community about frauds and scams targeting older people. Prince George’s County, Maryland, where I live is a predominately African American community. I know how residents of my county are targeted, so I volunteered. I found CFPB to be very responsive; even if the scam amount is relatively small, they understand that the money or asset may be all that the older person has.
Now, I cannot call and talk to the staff in the office; most of their website is no longer functional, and I have no idea when or even if the office will be restored; it has vanished. There is literally no way to refer people to a federal office that was always approachable for older people. In 2024, when I became chair of the Senior Lawyers Division, my personal goal was to raise the awareness of attorneys and the communities we serve about the growing crisis of scams and frauds targeting older people by creating the Elder Fraud Prevention and Detection Initiative. The CFPB worked with SLD to launch this initiative and make it a reality that will hopefully impact many Americans. But who will continue the work that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created to do? Who will protect Americans? I have personally joined the fight to free the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and I invite you to join the fight.
