It has been alleged that the comic book genius behind the Marvel franchise, Stan Lee, spent his final years a victim of elder abuse at the hands of his former manager, Keya Morgan.
According to a spokesperson from Los Angeles Superior Court, an arrest warrant for Mr Morgan has been issued, citing at least five counts of abuse against his former employer.
Amongst the offences, Morgan stands accused of fraud, forgery and false imprisonment.
Following the death of Stan Lee’s wife in 2017, former memorabilia collector, Keya Morgan, started working for Stan Lee. As Lee’s health deteriorated, Morgan became a more influential presence that may have started authorising actions on Stan Lee’s behalf without his express consent.
Before Lee’s death in November 2018, his family became increasingly concerned by the level of influence Morgan was able to exert over the 95-year-old Marvel muse who was said to have suffered from poor eyesight and memory loss in his final years.
During the final period of his life, many were unaware over who had control of his affairs and whether Lee had the capacity to consent to Morgan’s decisions regarding his estate.
Morgan was issued with a restraining order by Stan Lee’s family after it became clear that Lee’s property had been militarised with a permanent and excessive security presence who, the family have suggested, prevented them from accessing the property and visiting Stan Lee.
The recent allegations would also suggest that this security detail also prevented Stan Lee from leaving the premises. In his final months, without the consent of Stan Lee’s family, Morgan is accused of moving Lee to a new home.
Unfortunately, there has been a huge rise in the number of people, in trusted positions, exploiting the people they should be protecting from financial and physical harm.
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) have recently reported that it received 5,327 safeguarding referrals in 2016/17. Of those referrals, the OPG investigated 1,266 instances of suspected abuse in this time, which equated to a 45% increase in the number of cases investigated a year earlier. 272 of the investigated cases resulted in an application to the Court of Protection.
Last year, the OPG was instructed to make 1,362 investigation visits to assess the actions of attorneys or deputies. This figure had increased by 32% from the 1,030 investigation visits carried out in 2017; highlighting both the OPG’s ability to investigate safeguarding issues, and more worryingly, the increase in deputies or attorneys exploiting their trusted position.
As elder abuse increases, what should be done to prevent exploitation of the elderly?
