By Jim Sanders - jsanders@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, April 22, 2008
If you tell senior citizens that you're a big shot, you'd better be one, under legislation passed Monday by the Assembly.
The measure, Assembly Bill 2149, is designed to curb the use of specialty titles, such as "senior investment adviser," by sales personnel with little or no special training.
"Con artists often prey on older adults by instilling a false sense of trust and security by flaunting bogus credentials," said Assemblywoman Patty Berg, a Eureka Democrat who proposed the bill. "If you want to use a title, you have to earn it."
Assembly passage of the bill, 61-7, sends the measure to the Senate.
Berg's bill targets classroom or online programs that provide designations such as "certified retirement financial adviser" for participants who undergo only cursory instruction.
Under AB 2149, investment advisers could not use titles implying special training unless they were obtained from an accredited organization recognized by the state Department of Corporations.
Violators could risk license suspension or revocation.
More than 225,000 Californians are victims of some type of elder or dependent adult abuse each year, according to a legislative committee analysis.
Opponents of AB 2149 claim it would create a different standard for California than for other states, creating an unfair burden on investment firms.
Opponents also contend that investment advisers who truly cheat seniors, not just use fancy titles, would be violating existing laws against fraud or deception.
Betty Perry, of the Older Women's League in California, applauded AB 2149.
"They're trying to make a buck," she said of sales personnel using bogus credentials. "And it's easy for people to be deceived."
Pending is a companion measure by Berg, Assembly Bill 2150, that would ban insurance agents and brokers from similar misrepresentation.
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