Ramona Wilson tidied her house, parked both of her cars in her garage, shut all the doors and turned on the engines.

But before she could climb behind the wheel and asphyxiate herself, she was interrupted by a tap, tap, tap on her front door.

Two strangers stood on her porch. Wilson was angry at being interrupted and wanted to chase them away. But one of them -- Dave Kessler -- told her he understood the shame and embarrassment she must have felt after being conned out of $50,000 by a man she thought loved her.

He could help her, Kessler said.

At 74, Wilson had been through a lot in life, but nothing before had robbed her of her will to live.

Kessler, who worked in the Ohio attorney general's office, asked her to make a pot of coffee and listen to what he had to say.

"She needed to hear that it wasn't her fault," he said.

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Ohio officials hope to elevate elder abuse to the forefront of societal concerns through stories such as Wilson's in much the same way that attention was called to child abuse 30 years ago and to domestic violence 10 years ago, said Cynthia Dungey, director of the state Department of Job and Family Services.

The state also plans to create a stronger statewide adult-protective-services system and wants to encourage the kind of collaboration among caseworkers, law-enforcement agencies, prosecutors and others that helped put Wilson's life back together.

Related stories: Often, elderly abused by relatives -- More help needed for Ohio's abused or neglected seniors

"It was like he had been sent from God," Wilson said of Kessler. "I learned that while I couldn't go back and change things, that didn't mean I had to stop living."

Wilson told Kessler how she had met Charles Sellers at church one summer afternoon in 2005. He had offered to walk her to her car after the sermon. He was 24 years younger than she was, but they exchanged phone numbers and struck up a friendship.

What she didn't know at the time was that Sellers had recently been released from prison after serving 10 years for fatally shooting a man during a gambling argument.

Wilson enjoyed the attention that Sellers lavished on her. She had lost her third husband, James, not even a year earlier to Alzheimer's and was lonely and still grieving. Sellers finally admitted details of his past, but he had convinced Wilson and most other members of their church that he was a reformed man, a good Christian, deserving of a second chance.

After a three-month courtship, Wilson and Sellers married. He then persuaded her to take out a $14,000 home-equity line of credit on her North Side house for home repairs and to open a dental office. A few days later, he called Wilson to say he was going to a hospital on his way home from work.

He hung up before Wilson could ask what was wrong. He never came home, and Wilson frantically called family, friends and then the police to report him missing.

Soon, Wilson saw ATM withdrawals in Dayton, near what police would tell her were known prostitution areas. Sellers ultimately ended up in Wheeling, W.Va., where, while high on cocaine and heroin, he fell out of a brothel window and was hospitalized with a broken arm, court records show.

By then, he had blown $50,000 -- the money from the home-equity line and Wilson's entire life savings.

"Can you imagine your whole life gone like that?" Wilson asked. "The worst part was I lost my respect. Even my own children were talking behind my back."

Although Kessler said he might not be able to return her money, he promised he would try to bring her justice. He worked with Columbus police and the Franklin County prosecutor's office to build a case against Sellers. In the meantime, Adult Protective Services in Franklin County and the Pickaway County Victims of Crime program helped Wilson seek civil remedies, including a divorce.

In 2007, Sellers was sentenced to five years in prison by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Eric Brown. He appealed and, in 2008, was given five years' probation and ordered to pay $14,326 in restitution.

To spare others the pain she went through, Wilson, who had become pastor of her church, traveled the state with Kessler to tell her story.

"I'm not a victim anymore," she said. "I'm an overcomer."

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As the nation grows older, state- and county-run adult-protective-services programs will play a more critical role than ever in investigating abuse, neglect and financial exploitation, experts agree.

But, they point out, programs are underfunded, lack oversight and vary dramatically because no minimum standards have been set.

Ohio has 88 counties and 88 different approaches to protecting elderly residents. To better coordinate the protection, Dungey, of Job and Family Services, said the state plans to spend about $2.6 million to create a central hotline, data-collection system and minimum standards and training requirements for the adult-protective-services programs in the counties.

A working group set up by Gov. John Kasich last summer recommended that the state also provide $4.4 million in grants so counties can create plans to meet the new state requirements by July 1, 2016.

An addition of almost $3 million will be available to counties that work with other agencies to come up with "big leap" partnerships or programs to fill gaps in services. Several counties, for example, have only enough money to perform investigations as required by state law, but others can link clients to services in the community such as home repairs.

"Without question, the willingness of the legislature and the governor to put $10 million on the table seems to be an indication that the state is trying to make some traction on the issue of elder abuse," said Bill Sundermeyer, AARP's associate state director.

Still, there are no assurances that the funding won't be cut if the economy stumbles or if lawmakers decide to prioritize another cause.

"It's anybody's guess," said Lynn Wieland, a retired consultant who oversaw the adult-protective-services agency in Cuyahoga County. To truly solve the problems, the state needs to make a lasting commitment to elder abuse and provide strong leadership and funding, she said.

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The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services isn't the only state agency that has decided the issue is deserving of more attention.

Attorney General Mike DeWine announced an Elder Justice Initiative last May to increase the investigation and prosecution of elder-abuse cases and improve victims' access to services.

"We will work to complement and bridge the gap between existing systems that serve older adults, including adult-protective-services (programs) and local law enforcement," DeWine said.

Abuse is easier to catch in nursing centers than in homes, where perpetrators often are family members or caregivers and victims tend to be more isolated. To help solve that problem, the initiative will teach community members, lawyers, advocates for the aging and others the signs of elder abuse, DeWine said.

Since launching the initiative, the attorney general's office has had 160 requests for assistance, most for financial-exploitation cases that have ranged as high as $1 million, he said.

Too often, police and prosecutors believe that all elderly people make terrible witnesses and have reduced mental capacity that makes cases hard to prove, said Paul Greenwood, the head of the elder-abuse protection unit in the San Diego district attorney's office.

They also believe that if a senior citizen gives the money away, say in a home-repair scam, it's not a crime but a civil matter, Greenwood said. Or if a senior refuses to cooperate with police, nothing can be done.

"These are all myths," he said. "Most of these cases are preventable and can be tried, and if we don't prosecute, the perpetrator will do it again, harming even more vulnerable victims."

Charles Sellers, for example, stole money and jewelry from a previous wife in Massachusetts before he took Ramona Wilson's life savings. Kessler tracked down the woman to help with Wilson's case, only to learn that she was still married to Sellers and thus his marriage to Wilson was illegal.

Greenwood has put away more than 500 criminals who preyed on the elderly in California, and he often travels the country teaching how to prevent the growing problem. He'll be in Columbus in April to provide four hours of training for the attorney general's office.

He'd like to see the federal government dedicate more money to tackling elder abuse and create a national database for the crimes. He also is an advocate of communities such as Columbus creating dedicated units to handle elder-abuse investigations.

Establishment of a larger, multidisciplinary task force with representatives from federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies, adult protective services and banks could provide rapid response whenever a suspect transfers money out of state or across state borders, Greenwood said.

"Crooks and con artists are becoming more creative and daring in their efforts to deplete the life savings of our senior citizens," he said. "It is therefore time for us to go on the offensive in identifying, investigating and prosecuting these suspects."

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Sharing similar concerns, state Reps. Mike Dovilla, a Republican from Berea, and Wes Retherford, a Republican from Hamilton, reintroduced a bill last month that would extend the definition of elder abuse to include financial harm, neglect and exploitation and create a registry to identify and track patterns of abuse.

The bill would expand the list of people required by Ohio law to report suspected abuse to include such professionals as certified public accountants, dialysis technicians, investment advisers, notaries public and pharmacists. Already mandatory reporters are clergy members, doctors, hospital and nursing-home employees and others.

The proposed law would enhance training for adult-protective-services caseworkers.

Retherford said that if he and his wife lost money, it would be painful but they'd eventually bounce back. But if people who are elderly, retired and living on a fixed income lose their life savings, "that's often the end of them," he said.

Once scammed, many have to go on Medicaid and other public assistance just to survive.

"We want to help keep seniors self-sufficient and help protect taxpayer money," he said.

The Ohio Family Violence Prevention Project, a group of health and social-services experts throughout the state, is recommending that Ohio allow "convenience" bank accounts. Such accounts enable a designated party to monitor a senior's account as well as to deposit and withdraw funds.

Unlike joint accounts, transactions must be for the benefit of the primary account holder, and the account shields both the senior citizen and the "helper" from liability for debts incurred by the other, said Kenny Steinman, the project director and an adjunct assistant professor at Ohio State University's College of Public Health.

Plus, with no right of survivorship, any money in the account when the older person dies becomes part of his or her estate, to be divided in accordance with a will or the law.

The project also recommends that the state consider creating an elder-abuse forensic center, Steinman said. At many of the forensic centers popping up across the country, public-health and law-enforcement officials are learning to use the same techniques popularized on the C S I : Crime Scene InvestigationTV series to root out elder abuse and neglect.

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Ohio is one of only four states where adult-protective-services caseworkers don't investigate reported abuse of people ages 18 to 59, said Andy Capehart, the assistant director of the National Adult Protective Services Association, who started his career in Columbus.

Where it becomes concerning, Capehart said, is in the case of people with severe mental or physical disabilities.

One such example was Rosemary Vincent, 58, of McConnellsville in Morgan County. She was in the care of relatives because she had an illness that caused muscle weakness. When she died on Christmas Eve in a Columbus hospital, she weighed 85 pounds. She had a bruised eye, bed sores and broken ribs that had healed incorrectly.

Investigators say her cousin, Jerry Campbell, 43, and his wife, Shannon Campbell, 37, of Nelsonville in Athens County, kept Vincent malnourished and strapped in a wheelchair -- and made her sleep in a closet -- while they stole her food stamps and Social Security checks.

Ohio already has a safety net for disabled adults who aren't yet 60: police and prosecutors, said Greg Moody, director of Kasich's Office of Health Transformation.

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Even if the state wanted to cover the younger age group, it would be difficult given the current budget, Moody said.

Despite funding challenges, many adult-protective-services programs are learning to do more with less, Capehart said.

For example, New York City sends caseworkers and trained volunteers each month into the homes of older adults who have problems managing their finances to help pay their bills and make sure they are not being abused or neglected, he said.

Sacramento, Calif., contracts with hospitals to provide services to patients who are frequently hospitalized and at high risk of abuse or neglect. Fairfax County in Virginia uses contracted psychologists and nurse practitioners to help assess the physical and cognitive abilities of older adults.

In Massachusetts, five state police detectives are housed within the Adult Protective Services department, which has resulted in improved criminal-investigation rates, Capehart said.

"Ohio doesn't have to look far to get some ideas."

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Some good work is being done in Ohio, too.

Summit County, for example, has a partnership with the county health department that allows it to call on registered nurses and sanitarians to help with difficult cases such as a problem with a hoarder, said Patricia Divoky, director of the Summit County Department of Job and Family Services.

"It's a complicated problem that deserves a communitywide response," she said.

Licking County has an interdisciplinary team of professionals, including court, fire, law-enforcement, mental-health and social workers, who meet monthly to work on the more complicated cases. This year, it plans to add representatives of banks and other financial institutions.

In 2013, the "I-team" worked on 57 cases of elder abuse, about a third of the total reports of abuse and neglect for the county, said John Fisher, director of the Licking County Department of Job and Family Services. Of those, 21 led to full criminal investigations and 13 more were referred to prosecutors for charges.

County social workers also train firefighters and paramedics on how to identify the signs of abuse in children and older adults and what to do about it, Fisher said.

Cuyahoga and Franklin counties have both put much more money into their adult-protective-services agencies than the state provides. Cuyahoga received $64,607 from the state last fiscal year but spends $3.5 million annually to sort through the 4,000-some abuse and neglect complaints that come in every year.

Franklin received $45,711 in state money last fiscal year but spends about $1.6 million a year to handle about 1,400 calls.

"We recognize that the need is great, even though most of the crimes have been silent," said Tracey Mason, the administrator of the Cuyahoga County Division of Senior and Adult Services.

Dave Kessler, who helped Ramona Wilson regain her life, now works for the prosecutor and the Department of Job and Family Services in Fairfield County, southeast of Columbus. His aim is still to hold accountable the con men and women who take advantage of the elderly.

Wilson's ex-husband, Charles Sellers, moved to Massachusetts in 2008. Wilson said he has paid her just $6 of the $14,326 the court says he owes.

Sellers could not be reached for comment.

Now 82, Wilson can no longer handle the physical strains of touring the state to tell her story, but she has written a book that she hopes will lift the spirits of others who have been conned.

"It still hurts, but if I save just one person, all the pain will have been worth it," she said.

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Dispatch Reporter Encarnacion Pyle wrote this story with support from the Journalists in Aging Fellows Program of the Gerontological Society of America and New America Media, sponsored by the Silver Century Foundation.

Dispatch Librarians Linda Deitch, Julie Fulton and Susan Stonick contributed research for this series.

epyle@dispatch.com

@EncarnitaPyle

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