A new law encouraging financial institutions to do more to prevent and report financial exploitation of older adults was prompted by a family’s discovery that their loved one lost more than $3 million in an alleged wire fraud scheme.
The Virginia Senior Safe Act, also known as “Larry’s Law,” honors Navy veteran Larry Cook, whose family discovered that he had wired millions of dollars overseas. The family pushed for stronger protections of older and vulnerable adults after his death.
Cook’s niece Janine Williamson testified before the Virginia Senate Commerce and Labor Committee in February on the bill. Williamson filed an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in her $3.6 million negligence lawsuit against Wells Fargo and Navy Federal Credit Union on behalf of her uncle’s estate. The complaint alleged that Navy Federal processed 74 wire transfers for Cook in the final months of his life. The family contends Cook was the victim of an elaborate phishing scam and in October 2020 began writing large sums of money to a foreign bank.
“HB 692 would have stopped the financial exploitation of my uncle Larry and allowed our family to get him needed physical and mental help,” Williamson said in a statement. “A trusted contact’s information, much like a medical emergency contact, would have enabled his financial institutions to reach us quickly with a phone call, email or letter.”
HB 692, signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) last week, requires the Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions by January 2026 to create uniform training guidelines for financial institutions for spotting and reporting financial abuse.
It also will provide broad civil protections to institutions that undergo the training. The law permits a financial institution to submit and periodically update a list of trusted persons to contact in case of suspected financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. Banks and credit unions that undergo the training would not be liable for disclosing suspected financial exploitation if those disclosures were made “in good faith and with reasonable care.”
Youngkin also signed HB 769, which adds financial exploitation and abuse or neglect of a vulnerable or older adult to the list of crimes a multi-jurisdictional grand jury can investigate.
Both bills go into effect July 1.
