Brothers accused of fleecing vulnerable senior of $349k

When we grow old, we hope our loved ones will be there to protect us.

But when that can't happen, isolated and vulnerable people are often left exposed to predators.

Barbara is 89, she's frail and lives in a retirement village in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

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When approached by A Current Affair, it was clear Barbara suffered some cognitive impairment and wasn't in a state to be interviewed.

But what police allege happened to Barbara is too serious to ignore.

Eric and Mark Shumsky are brothers, both aged in their 60s.

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It's alleged Eric was Barbara's neighbour at the retirement village and is a budding thespian who loves Shakespeare.

Mark is a solicitor with broad experience across a number of areas of law.

Detectives set up a strike force to investigate after they received a tip-off from Barbara's bank.

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Between the brothers, police allege they defrauded the elderly woman of $349,000.

Officers claim between 2019 and 2022, Eric helped Barbara transfer $316,000 to him to pay for his personal debts and living expenses.

Eric was remanded in custody after he and his brother were arrested and charged last month.

Mark was granted bail and was ordered to report to police three times a week.

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Both brothers have been charged with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception - Eric with one count, Mark with four - and both will face court next month.

When tracked down by A Current Affair, Mark was inside his law firm on Sydney's North Shore, where he's still practising.

His employer, Stacks Collins Thompson, part of Stacks Law group, said in a statement that Mark reported his charges to them and the law society and that the practice will comply with all professional conduct obligations.

The firm also said Barbara was never a client.

Eric is yet to enter a plea but Mark's employer said he will fight the charges and Stacks Collins Thompson will represent him in court.

Solicitor Christine Smyth specialises in succession law and said the allegations shine a light on a bigger issue - that an abundance of old money is contributing to an elder abuse epidemic.

"A large amount of wealth is concentrated in a proportion of people, namely baby boomers and older generations, and they hold the largest amount of wealth in this country," Smyth said.

One in 15 Australians over the age of 65 and one in four people over the age of 85 have some sort of cognitive impairment.

"They fail to appreciate what the red flags are because they're lonely, their memory might be failing, their confidence might be failing," Smyth said.

"They say it takes a village to raise a child but it also takes a village to protect our vulnerable."

And who knows, one day we all might need our village.

"If we all have the good fortune to age, then we are all at risk of this happening to each and every one of us and that is why as a community we need to be taking a greater stance and stepping up and protecting our aged," Smyth said.