This petition calls for an urgent criminal investigation into severe elder abuse by a foreign national and her Australian partner, targeting a vulnerable Melbourne couple. Despite mounting evidence, authorities failed to intervene. The perpetrators committed financial abuse, isolated the elderly couple, and withheld critical care, likely hastening the mother’s death - and they haven’t stopped there. Immediate action is essential to stop elder abuse, which affects millions of Australians each year. Visa cancellation should apply to non-citizen offenders involved in such crimes.

Without urgent reform, no family is safe - this could happen to someone you love. 👉 Sign now to demand justice and help stop elder abuse!

After targeting an elderly couple in an affluent SE Melbourne suburb, a Brazilian woman, Karen, and her Australian partner, Travis, also the son of the victim (names changed to protect elder's safety) committed financial abuse, undue influence, fraud, and misled Victorian authorities to further their ambitions.

In 2020, after Karen and Travis pressured Meryl, who had Alzheimer’s, for a $1M loan, the daughter Elli (who sometimes lived interstate) sought Tribunal intervention as a last resort. Recognising Meryl’s vulnerability, the Tribunal ordered Karen and Travis’s removal from Meryl’s inherited investment property to prevent serious financial loss.  However, tensions escalated when the couple planned to move into the Meryl and David’s primary residence, pressuring David (the father) to cut off his daughter. Karen and Travis returned from Brazil in 2022, isolated David and Meryl and seized control of their home. While Elli was away, Karen committed perjury and filed an Intervention Order to block her from contacting her dying mother, cutting off Elli’s access to provide care. Karen is also suspected of damaging property and personal items. 

Karen, on a temporary Partner Visa, prioritised her own luxury and financial gain, usurping the needs of a dying Australian mother in her own home - neglecting the mother and cutting her off from her daughter against her wishes during her final year of life, including Christmas, Easter, and birthdays. They wouldn't even let the daughter speak to her mother on the phone!

 

 

Despite Meryl’s inability to recognise family, she was influenced to rewrite her Will. Evidence suggests fraud, including influencing a doctor’s opinion of her capacity. While appearing attentive, they neglected the terminally ill mother until crisis. Meryl’s pleas to see her daughter were ignored and months of untreated vomiting and illness likely hastened her decline, freeing Karen and Travis from care duties and fast-tracking inheritance. Except for 3 visits, Elli was cut off for 16 months until she found her mother frail and skeletal in hospital - just weeks before her death. Following Meryl’s death in early Oct 2023 Karen and Travis refused to hold a funeral, instead prioritising a holiday and pop concert in Sydney. Elli’s request for a service was heartlessly ignored. Elli was only informed of the cremation *after* it had already taken place and was cruelly blocked from collecting any of her mother’s sentimental belongings, denying her the chance to grieve properly.

Although not immediately apparent, the father, David’s lifelong psychosocial disabilities, make him highly vulnerable to financial abuse, including by male relatives. In 2020, when Elli helped investigate the Family Trust and found money missing, her uncles’ influence of David shut down the inquiry and sided with Karen and Travis to protect their interests. The uncles’ then influenced David into appointing them as Powers of Attorney, misleading him into believing they acted in his best interest. 

Once very close to his daughter, the deceptively charming Karen (now in her late 30’s) and Travis continue to manipulate David against Elli, robbing him of his final years with the only family member who truly loves and tries to protect him. Coaching David what to say and do, they have manipulated him into estrangement, making him question his own memories to conceal their crimes. Now, unsurprisingly they have also influenced David to update his Will in their favour! 

Like many vulnerable elders, David remains silent out of denial, influence, fear, shame and a need to preserve his relationship with his son. In 2020, he was also misled into signing Visa support documents, falsely claiming Karen was of good character despite her involvement in financial abuse at the time.

Failure of Legal and Law Enforcement Responses:

Immigration and police were first alerted in 2020. Despite substantial evidence, immigration continues to defer to police, whose response, a mere welfare check - remains grossly inadequate. Misclassifying this as a civil matter has left the father unprotected despite clear criminal elements that fall squarely within police jurisdiction.

 

 

Shockingly, elder abuse affects 1 in 6 older Australians each year*, yet weak laws enable prolonged economic exploitation and covert abuse. The victim and rescuer pay the highest price, while the perpetrator remains unaccountable. Lengthy legal battles drain resources, devastating victims, families, and taxpayers. Without proper investigations, penalties like fines, imprisonment, and asset recovery are impossible. Stronger laws and enforcement are urgently needed to strengthen protective measures against elder abuse.

CALL TO ACTION: PROTECT THE VULNERABLE AND HOLD PERPETRATORS ACCOUNTABLE

1.    Comprehensive Criminal Investigation - Investigate financial abuse, fraud, perjury, undue influence, misleading legal authorities and unauthorised control of the father's communications. 

2.    Protection is critical - There is sufficient evidence for police to urgently issue Intervention Orders. Protection orders must be automatically activated in cases like these.

3.    Legal and Immigration Actions - There is already enough evidence to enforce the cancellation of the the woman's Visa; this is urgent and well overdue.  

SYSTEMIC REFORM IS URGENT

4.    Coercive Control - Criminalise coercive control, strengthen safeguards, and ensure law enforcement intervention in elder abuse cases.

5.  Accountability for Professionals - Enforce stricter penalties for practitioners who are aware of their client’s elder abuse but fail to act appropriately and ensure mandatory reporting requirements.

8. Reform Capacity Assessments - Mandate independent medical assessments for Wills and legal documents. Penalise practitioners who are influenced or coerced into issuing false capacity certifications.

7.  Disinherit perpetrators & reclaim misappropriated assets - Disinherit proven abusers and recover misappropriated assets to help fund elder abuse protection.

8.  Reform Will & Estate Laws - Strengthen protections against undue influence, mandate independent assessments for vulnerable individuals, and enforce stricter controls on Will and Estate exploitation.

👉 Please sign this petition now— NO ONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO PROFIT FROM ELDER ABUSE. Without reform, it could one day affect your own family or someone close to you. Demand action before more vulnerable lives are destroyed. 

Note: All names have been changed in this petition, and personal details limited to protect the father’s safety.

*The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare https://www.aihw.gov.au/family-domestic-and-sexual-violence/population-groups/older-people