Bureau of Securities Launches Online Portal to Report Suspected Financial Abuse Targeting Elderly and Other Vulnerable Adults
Electronic Reporting System Makes It Easier for Financial Professionals to Comply with NJ Law Requiring Them to Alert Bureau of Suspected Abuse ;
NEWARK – Expanding their efforts to protect vulnerable adults from financial exploitation, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs (“Division”) today announced the launch of an electronic portal that makes it easier for financial professionals to comply with a New Jersey law requiring them to alert the NJ Bureau of Securities (“Bureau”) of suspected financial abuse targeting older and vulnerable investors. New Jersey’s Safeguarding Against Financial Exploitation (SAFE) Act requires broker-dealers and investment advisers to notify the Bureau of suspected or attempted financial exploitation of vulnerable adults, which the Act defines as those who are 65 and older or subject to the Adult Protective Services Act. The Bureau reviews all filed reports to assess whether additional action is needed. “Many vulnerable adults are unaware they’re being preyed upon financially until their money is gone,” said Cari Fais, Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “Investment professionals are intimately familiar with their clients’ finances and therefore are often the first to notice when something is amiss. The SAFE Portal allows them to report their suspicions more quickly, providing the Bureau a better opportunity to step in before it’s too late.” Under the provisions of the SAFE Act, a broker-dealer or investment adviser who believes that financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult may have occurred, may have been attempted, or is being attempted, must notify the Bureau and the adult protective services provider in the county where the suspected exploitation is occurring. Persons who make a disclosure in compliance with the SAFE Act are permitted to delay transactions and disbursements from the investor victim’s accounts, enabling further review in an attempt to prevent potential financial losses. Since the SAFE Act took effect in April 2020, broker-dealers and investment advisers have notified the Bureau of more than 1,200 cases of suspected fraud and have delayed financial disbursements from dozens of accounts belonging to suspected victims. Those notifications, transmitted to the Bureau via email, were in the form of narratives composed by financial professionals based on a series of questions posted on the Bureau’s website. The new portal allows financial professionals to submit information and upload supporting documents into a digital reporting system. The report is automatically logged into the Bureau’s database. “We commend New Jersey’s registered financial professionals for stepping up to fulfill their responsibility to report suspected financial exploitation of vulnerable adults,” said Elizabeth Harris, Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Securities. “Our new SAFE Portal makes it easier for them to submit reports to the Bureau and provides that information to us in a manner that quickly facilitates our review.” Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers can access the SAFE Portal on the Bureau’s website or at https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/bos/Pages/SAFE.aspx. ###
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