CANTON, NC (October 17, 2013) -- Champion Credit Union hosted an Elder Fraud and Financial Exploitation Conference on Thursday, October 10th at the Colonial Theater in Canton.
Criminals and scam artists target everyone, especially the elderly. They make telephone calls and monitor their mail; they find any way they can to take advantage. Seniors are losing billions of dollars each year due to financial exploitation. On Thursday, October 10th, Champion Credit Union was joined by 50 community members during their first annual Elder Fraud and Financial Exploitation Conference at the Colonial Theater in Canton, North Carolina. This event focused on senior citizens and their caregivers, but welcomed anyone who wanted to attend.
The conference featured Caroline Farmer from the Attorney General’s office, Postal Inspector Eric Wise who spoke on mail fraud, Mitchell Rathbone and Daniel Blagg with the Haywood County Sheriff’s Department who discussed Project Lifesaver, and Sarah Wenzel with Wenzel and Wenzel Attorneys at Law who touched on Powers of Attorney and Estate Planning. Following the speakers was an informational fair featuring representatives from the Alzheimer Association, Haywood County Department of Social Services, the Senior Resource Center, the Postal Inspection Office, the Attorney General’s Office, the Haywood County Sheriff’s Department, and Champion Credit Union. During the informational fair, guests could gather information on the topics as well as address other questions and concerns that they may have had.
“This was a wonderful event,” says Peggy Ewart, who attended the conference. “There were lots of great handouts and resources that we can take home and study. It is hard when you can’t get out and get this information so having it all together was great. They made us fully aware of what can happen and what to watch out for.”
Champion Credit Union provided breakfast and lunch to the attendees, but not without these wonderful in-kind sponsors of the event who made donations: Ingles of Canton, K-Mart of Waynesville, Krispy Kreme, Bi-Lo of Waynesville, Bojangles of Canton, and Panacea Coffee House.
Champion Credit Union plans on offering these seminars on a yearly basis and welcomes anyone that wants to participate. “The conference provided us with the opportunity to share some very valuable information with the public that they may not have been aware of,” says Karen Knowlton, EVP of Business Development with Champion Credit Union. “We see this happen to our members and our own family and friends and it is devastating. By providing an opportunity for the citizens of our communities to hear these things and ask questions, we could potentially save them from this devastating exploitation.”
About Champion Credit Union:
Local since 1932, Champion Credit Union is a community-chartered financial cooperative that serves the residents of Haywood, Buncombe, Henderson, Graham, Swain, Jackson, and Madison Counties.
Champion Credit Union, with more than 23,000 members and over $185 million in assets, operates from offices in Haywood and Buncombe Counties in Western North Carolina. For more information on Champion Credit Union, visit www.championcu.com.