Money paid Caregivers

When mother was dying I hired 6=7 different caregivers to watch them when I had to leave for short times. Each caregiver asked to be paid cash ad I never used the same ones as the same ones were always working other jobs. Is there a certain amount that needs aid out before you have to deduct taxes on them? Since I only used them once need to know if this would be treated as somewhat close to contract labor where you pay a certain amount before you have to list their names and SSN's? Also my brother financially exploitated them and the police would not take the report but told me it was a civil mater. I did not take it to court because the oney was gone by then and I had no money to hire and attorney. In all he stole around $40,000 from our parents.Can I show this as a loss on income taxes Before mother died she had no idea what she had done as she had brain cancer and he stole from her knowing this, He even stole her funeral check and I had to borrow money to pay for her funeral. My husband and I were out over $43,000, which was all our savings in caring for my parents before they died. I lived n another state and had to buy cheap camper and live in an rv park to be close to them yet not to intrude n their life. It was the most horrible thing that has ever happened to me and this continued for three years. Today we have no money for groceries through the month because caring for them completely wiped us out financially. They both died within a few months of one another but the experience of trying to care for them while a sibling was stealing from them took its physical and emotional and great financial toll on me and my husband.