"Lobbying is a great opportunity to talk about how close many credit unions are to their members and how members trust them to help with financial and life decisions." Often it's the credit unions that first notice a red flag of abuse, the financial disarray, and signal a social worker or family member that something is off. "Credit unions have always been great consumer advocates."

Like many issues, awareness is the real key. Donya feels strongly about this topic and brings those feelings to her testimony in front of lawmakers. "I've always felt passionate about fraud in general, but elder financial exploitation is a particularly heinous crime," she said. "It is attacking the most vulnerable of our population by preying on their level of trust, and leaving them with none of the money and security they worked their whole life for."

Last legislative session,she, on behalf of Montana credit unions, testified in support of a bill to impose an additional penalty for those who commit consumer fraud against the elderly. In fact, the Montana Legislature passed two bills to assist with protecting seniors across the state from elder abuse.The second bill strengthened the Elder Abuse Act, which has been rarely used by prosecutors because it placed the burden on them to prove mental impairment of the victim. 

Donya is truly making a difference in helping to protect Montanans of all ages from consumer fraud. Join us in thanking her for representing the credit union community at the Montana State Capital. This work helps prevent abuse by ensuring that it is defined, and punished, as a crime.