Elder Abuse Charges in Las Vegas: Nevada Law & Penalties

A worried phone call from a sibling, a bank's fraud alert on an aging parent's account, or a caregiver accused of pocketing "a little extra" for gas money — any of these can turn into elder abuse charges in Las Vegas almost overnight. Nevada folds the physical mistreatment and the financial exploitation of older and vulnerable adults into a single serious felony statute, and Clark County prosecutors pursue it aggressively, especially when a family member or paid caregiver is the one accused. At Thomas Boley Attorney At Law, we defend clients facing elder abuse and financial exploitation allegations throughout Las Vegas, Henderson, Summerlin, North Las Vegas, and the rest of Clark County.

Elder Abuse Charges in Las Vegas Under Nevada Law

Nevada's elder abuse law is codified at NRS 200.5093 and takes an unusually broad approach: rather than separating physical mistreatment from financial crimes, it defines a single offense that covers the willful and unjustified infliction of pain, injury, or mental anguish on a protected person, or the exploitation of that person's financial resources without their informed consent. Either theory is charged as a Category B felony, and prosecutors do not need to prove both to secure a conviction — evidence supporting either the physical or the financial theory is enough. We cover the underlying statute in more detail in our Nevada Criminal Laws glossary entry on NRS 200.5093, but the short version is this: Nevada treats harming or exploiting an older person as seriously as many violent crimes, and it prosecutes accordingly.

Who Qualifies as a Protected Older or Vulnerable Person

The statute protects two overlapping groups. The first is straightforward: anyone age 60 or older. The second, "vulnerable persons," is broader and age-neutral — it generally covers a person whose physical or mental condition substantially impairs their ability to provide their own care or protect their own rights, regardless of how old they are. In practice, that means the law can apply to an adult with a disability, a person recovering from a serious illness or surgery, or someone with early-stage cognitive decline, even if they have not yet turned 60. Prosecutors and defense attorneys alike spend considerable time on this threshold question, because whether the alleged victim actually meets the statute's definition can determine whether a case belongs in criminal court at all.

Physical Abuse vs. Financial Exploitation: Two Theories, One Charge

Physical elder abuse allegations typically involve claims of unexplained bruising, malnutrition, medication mismanagement, or a caregiver's rough handling of someone who cannot easily fight back or report what happened. Financial exploitation allegations look completely different on paper but carry the same criminal exposure: a forged signature on a check, a power of attorney used to transfer a house or drain a bank account, a beneficiary changed shortly before death under suspicious circumstances, or a pattern of "gifts" and reimbursements that conveniently benefit the caregiver more than the person receiving care. We handle many of these financial cases alongside our broader Las Vegas theft and property crimes defense practice, because the evidentiary battle — bank records, signatures, timelines, and intent — looks a great deal like a standard theft or fraud case, just with an older or vulnerable victim at the center of it. This pattern also resembles what we cover in Embezzlement Charges in Las Vegas, since both crimes involve someone in a position of trust converting another person's money or property for their own benefit.

Penalties for a Conviction Under NRS 200.5093

Whether the underlying conduct is physical or financial, a conviction under NRS 200.5093 is a Category B felony, punishable by 1 to 6 years in Nevada State Prison and a fine of up to $10,000. In financial exploitation cases, the court can also order restitution that requires repaying every dollar the victim lost, separate from and in addition to any prison sentence or fine. The consequences rarely stop there. A conviction can end a nursing or caregiving license, a financial advisor's registration, or a position of trust such as a power of attorney or court-appointed guardianship. For non-citizens, a felony conviction involving fraud or a crime against a person can also trigger serious immigration consequences. And because these cases often involve a family member as both the accused and a beneficiary of the alleged victim's estate, a conviction can permanently reshape inheritance rights long after any sentence is served. The financial theory of this statute also overlaps with what we discuss in Fraud and White-Collar Crime Charges in Las Vegas, since both are prosecuted using much of the same financial-records-based evidence.

Common Situations That Lead to Elder Abuse Allegations

Most of the elder abuse and exploitation cases we see in Las Vegas start in one of a handful of ways. An adult child holding a parent's power of attorney pays personal bills from the parent's account and later cannot produce documentation showing the parent authorized it. A paid in-home caregiver is accused after a family member notices missing jewelry or unexplained ATM withdrawals. A financial advisor or fiduciary moves an elderly client into higher-commission products or takes an unusual fee. And frequently, the accusation surfaces only after a falling-out among siblings over an inheritance, where one sibling who provided years of hands-on care becomes an easy target once the parent has died or lost the capacity to explain what actually happened. None of these situations automatically means a crime occurred, but each one is exactly the fact pattern Clark County prosecutors are trained to investigate.

How Adult Protective Services and Mandatory Reporting Trigger These Cases

Many elder abuse investigations begin outside the courtroom entirely. Nevada requires a wide range of professionals — including healthcare providers, financial institution employees, and licensed caregivers — to report suspected abuse or financial exploitation of an older or vulnerable person to Adult Protective Services or local law enforcement. A bank teller who flags an unusual pattern of withdrawals, a hospital social worker who notices signs of neglect, or a bank's internal fraud unit reviewing a large wire transfer can all set an investigation in motion before anyone accused of wrongdoing even knows a report was filed. Adult Protective Services investigations are civil and administrative, not criminal, but the findings, interviews, and records an APS caseworker gathers are frequently shared with police and can become the foundation for a later criminal referral. That overlap is exactly why speaking carefully — or not at all — with an APS investigator matters just as much as how you handle a police detective.

Defending Against an Elder Abuse or Exploitation Charge

An accusation is not proof, and elder abuse and exploitation cases often turn out to be far more complicated than the initial report suggests. A validly executed power of attorney or a documented, witnessed gift can fully authorize a transaction that looks suspicious out of context. Evidence that the alleged victim retained full mental capacity — medical records, contemporaneous witness statements, even the victim's own testimony — can undercut a claim that consent was coerced or invalid. In physical abuse allegations, injuries attributed to a fall, a documented medical condition, or the normal difficulty of transferring a frail patient can explain what a family member interpreted as mistreatment. And because inheritance disputes so often sit in the background, we investigate whether an accusation was shaped, consciously or not, by a sibling's resentment over years of unequal caregiving. Building that defense usually means subpoenaing complete financial and medical records, deposing family witnesses, and, in complex financial exploitation cases, bringing in a forensic accountant to trace every transaction at issue.

How Charges Can Affect Probate, Guardianship, or Family Court

Elder abuse and exploitation allegations rarely arrive in isolation. We frequently see a criminal referral filed alongside a guardianship petition seeking to remove the accused as an agent or guardian, a probate contest challenging the validity of a will or trust amendment, or a bitter family court dispute among siblings over an inheritance. Handling the criminal case without accounting for what is happening in probate or guardianship court is a common and costly mistake, since testimony or documents produced in one proceeding can be used against you in the other. We coordinate defense strategy across all of these fronts so a single accusation does not quietly cost you your freedom, your inheritance, and your relationship with your family all at once.

Speak With a Las Vegas Elder Abuse Defense Attorney

An elder abuse or financial exploitation accusation can cost you your freedom, your professional license, and your relationship with your family before you have had a real chance to explain what actually happened. Thomas Boley has represented clients throughout Clark County for more than 18 years and moves quickly to secure financial and medical records before memories fade and documents disappear.

Call (702) 435-3333 for a free consultation, or contact Thomas Boley online to discuss an elder abuse or financial exploitation case in Las Vegas, Henderson, Summerlin, North Las Vegas, or elsewhere in Clark County. Bring any paperwork you have received, the alleged victim's relationship to you, and a timeline of the care or financial help you provided. If your case resolves favorably, our guide to Nevada record sealing explains how it can eventually come off your record. This article is informational only and is not legal advice. Every case is unique.