Bill on financial exploitation of seniors passes the House March 18, 2026 Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, speaks on House Bill 794 on the House floor on Wednesday. The legislation would change how the state handles financial exploitation of seniors. A high-res version is available here. FRANKFORT — Legislation that would strengthen Kentucky laws against financially exploiting senior citizens passed the House on Wednesday. House Bill 794 aims to protect senior citizens by increasing the felony class and punishment for people convicted of offenses related to financial exploitation of those 65 and older. It would also allow the Kentucky attorney general to file for extradition of individuals in another state who have committed financial exploitation of older Kentuckians. The measure also seeks to implement training procedures for licensed investment advisors, requiring two hours of training that can count toward their mandated 12 hours. Bill sponsor Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, highlighted the scope of financial exploitation schemes commonly conducted on seniors. “Common scams reported by older Kentuckians involve tech support fraud, romance schemes, and grandparent government impersonation schemes,” he said. “These schemes can sometimes be very elaborate, convincing seniors to withdraw thousands of dollars from investment accounts, bank accounts and retirement accounts.” During discussion, Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville, asked whether the bill would affect training requirements for bank tellers or apply only to licensed investment advisors. Rep. Michael Meredith, R-Oakland, responded with insight into current training protocols for bankers and tellers. “I think this would specifically just apply to licensed investment advisors,” he said. “However, banks and their employees are trained on these things annually as well to try and prevent these frauds.” Stalker shared an experience involving a friend’s parents who were victims of financial exploitation. “It stated with a simple phone call,” she said. “It was so bad that she went to the bank not once but twice to make withdraws.” She said a bank teller recognized suspicious activity and contacted the family. Rep. Adrielle Camuel, D-Lexington, shared a similar experience with her mother. “She was almost a victim of a very large scheme. The scams, the stories that Kentuckians are being told are so realistic,” she said. “We don’t know how they had specific information, including bank information, her address, other personal information, and I cannot thank you enough for bringing this.” Lockett urged members to vote yes on the measure, emphasizing the importance of protecting vulnerable groups. The legislation “is a great step in protecting those 65 and older and from financial exploitation,” he said. “It’s time we send a very strong message to those that would pray on our senior adults.” The bill passed 94-0 and now moves to the Senate. The post Bill on financial exploitation of seniors passes the House appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less