Tooele County man accused of spending $16K of mother's money on booze, hotels

GRANTSVILLE — A 47-year-old Grantsville man was arrested and accused of spending more than $15,000 of his mother's money on hotel rooms and alcohol, leaving her with barely enough to pay for rent and nothing else.

Joshua Duane Dean was booked into the Tooele County Jail on Saturday for investigation of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

The investigation began when a woman, who investigators say is over the age of 65, contacted her local church ward and "asked the church for help paying bills and buying food," a police booking affidavit states.

The church reviewed the woman's finances "and found she receives a pension that should cover her needs, but a large portion of those funds was being spent by her son on hotels and alcohol," leaving her with rent money "and little or nothing for food or other necessities," according to the affidavit.

The woman "requires assistance with doctor visits, grocery shopping, and managing her finances. She lacked money for food despite a pension that should have met her needs," the affidavit states.

The woman told police she allowed her son, Dean, to use her debit card for some purchases. But when detectives reviewed seven months of bank records, they discovered "a months-long pattern of draining her pension for hotels and alcohol while she went without food," according to the affidavit. Dean spent more than $16,000 — including 96 days of hotel room stays — from September 2025 through March of this year, police state in their affidavit.

Police questioned and arrested Dean. "On the way to jail, he said he did not realize it had gotten that bad," police noted in their affidavit. Investigators further state in the affidavit that "additional months of records have not yet been reviewed."

The state hotline to report elder abuse is 800-371-7897.

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