Linda Bagnall says her 90-year-old mother is one of 500 seniors who were ripped off by a Sacramento-area corporate fraud scam. She's waited more than two years for help from the Victims of Corporate Fraud Compensation Fund, run by Secretary of State Debra Bowen.
Bagnall: "She needs to pay attention. We all have seniors. Who we are as a nation is represented by how we take care of our seniors."
Nicole Winger with the Secretary of State's office blames the delay on the law that created the compensation fund. She says there's a built-in waiting period designed to evenly distribute the money.
Winger: "It's out of respect for all eligible victims, so that everyone has an equal shot at that pool of money. And at the end of each fiscal year, all eligible claims will be paid."
That means a claim approved now won't be paid until next summer.


