Photo | Sen. Berthel Receives 2023 AARP Legislative Achievement Award

Recognized for leadership in protecting residents, including seniors, from financial exploitation.

State Sen. Eric Berthel (left) accepts a 2023 AARP Legislative Achievement Award from AARP Connecticut State Director Nora Duncan (right) at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

Chief Deputy Senate Republican Leader Eric Berthel (R-Watertown) recently received an AARP Connecticut 2023 Legislative Achievement Award for his leadership on ensuring that all residents, especially older residents, are protected against financial exploitation.

During the 2023 legislative session, Sen. Berthel supported S.B. 1088, which implements procedures into state statutes that protect Connecticut’s 500,000 seniors from suspected cases of financial fraud, scams, and exploitation by a person who is taking care of an older adult. The measure is now a state law (P.A. 23-161).

“Thank you to AARP Connecticut for this important recognition. The world has certainly changed, and it’s become unavoidable to put our information online in varying degrees. I’m proud to have supported a law that will provide more safeguards for our residents’ financial information. Seniors, and all Connecticut residents, have worked hard for their savings and I’ll continue to support efforts to protect them from financial exploitation,” said Sen. Berthel.

AARP Connecticut State Director Nora Duncan said, “At AARP we believe if you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam. This new law empowers a variety of financial professionals to help stop the scam they have spotted and protect the hard-earned dollars of our older residents. In just the first nine months of 2023, the Federal Trade Commission received nearly 14,000 reports of fraud in Connecticut with losses totaling nearly $48 million. AARP is happy to work with lawmakers to develop tools to protect residents of all ages from the criminals trying to defraud them.”

More information on AARP Connecticut is available here.