Hurricane caretaker who took money from elderly woman sentenced to jail, probation

ST. GEORGE — A Hurricane man who admitted to taking roughly $128,000 from an elderly woman he was caring for will spend 30 days in jail and three years on probation after he paid the money back to her and her family.

Fifth District Judge Jack Burns sentenced Gage Wallace Hedberg on Tuesday to two concurrent terms of one to 15 years in prison for financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and unlawful dealing of property by a fiduciary, second-degree felonies, but suspended those sentences in favor of jail and probation.

Hedberg, 33, pleaded guilty on May 7, but had asked to take back his plea ahead of his sentencing hearing. He affirmed his plea at Tuesday's hearing after prosecutors recommended a lighter sentence to reflect that he had already paid back the money and the judge agreed to follow that recommended sentence as a condition of his plea.

Burns said he did not want to stand in the way of the victim receiving her money, so he agreed to follow the recommendation; it was for her and not for Hedberg. The judge called the crime "reprehensible" and said the sentence feels lenient.

Hedberg was ordered to follow the requirements of the white-collar crime registry and is now disqualified from inheriting anything from the woman.

The judge warned Hedberg that if he takes advantage of anyone in a way similar to this, even at a smaller scale, while on probation "it would not be a far stretch" for the judge to reinstate the suspended prison sentences.

'Deliberate' exploitation

Deputy Washington County attorney Lane Wood said before Hedberg paid back the money he was planning to ask for one year in jail, instead of 30 days, before probation. He said although there is one victim the financial exploitation lasted for multiple years and was "systematic and extreme."

He explained Hedberg was the woman's caregiver and was added as a beneficiary on her trust but had a duty to act in her best interest. Instead, the attorney said he stole her life savings, selling her home and vehicle after her accounts were drained and then used that money as well. He said there were 449 transactions Hedberg made with her money mainly for Amazon purchases and to support gaming and alcohol habits.

"This is not a mistake, this is not an accident, these are deliberate, repeated actions," Wood said.

Hedburg told investigators he did not think he was doing anything wrong as the woman would be covered by Medicaid, which Wood said shifted the financial burden to Utah citizens while Hedberg was "living large." The woman, on the other hand, was living in a small care home rent free while the owner hoped he would be reimbursed by Medicaid. The owner reported that Hedberg brought her items, but estimated it totaled about $10 each month.

"Two very different lives being lived during this time," the attorney said.

Hedburg told the judge he accepts responsibility and knows what he did was wrong. He said he understands the woman now doesn't know who she can trust, and that he needs to change how he lives and make things right.

"She depended on me and trusted me. I violated that trust; my actions damaged her financial security and her well-being. I caused real harm," he said before being sentenced.

Future employment

The only issue prosecutors and Hedberg did not agree on, which was left to the judge outside of the plea recommendation, was whether Hedberg could consider working as a caregiver for a man he has already been working with. The man's family expressed a desire for him to continue working with them despite his conviction, and Hedberg's attorney, Jay Philpot, confirmed that he had no access to the man's money.

According to Philpot, not allowing him to work as a caregiver at all would put him in underemployment, which would not have a benefit.

The judge said he read letters from other people Hedberg had cared for with expressions of gratitude and appreciation for how well he did that role.

"It was hard for me to understand how that person was being described to me and then we had this behavior in this case," Burns said.

He said allowing Hedberg to continue working with the family was not "a gesture of leniency" but an attempt to impose a structured, enforceable sentence. He ordered him to not perform a caretaker role for anyone else without getting approval from the court.

Related topics