Chatfield couple sentenced to probation, repayment of $98K stolen from elderly relative
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(ABC 6 News) – UPDATE: A Chatfield couple that pleaded guilty to taking $98,000 from an elderly relative with Lewy Body Dementia were sentenced to repaying $98,191.15 in restitution, as well as two years of probation Thursday.
According to court documents, the Amundsons repaid the $98,000 shortly after pleading guilty to financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult in January of this year.
Five other counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult were dismissed at the sentencing Thursday, March 16, according to court documents.
The Amundsons were accused of transferring the $98,000 from the elderly victim’s account to their own bank account between Jan. 2018 and Dec. 2020, using Bruce Amundson’s position as the woman’s power of attorney.
According to court documents, the transfers left the woman unable to qualify for medical assistance, and at the time that the Amundsons were charged, her medical bills had been unpaid since April of 2021.
The victim had an outstanding bill of nearly $29,000 at the Rochester care facility where the Amundsons had placed her, according to court documents.
(ABC 6 News) – Bruce and Debra Amundson of Chatfield will stand trial on six counts each of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult in May 2023.
The Amundsons were charged in May of this year, after the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center gave Olmsted County law enforcement evidence that Bruce Amundson, the victim’s power of attorney, transferred large sums of money from the elderly woman’s bank account into the Amundson’s account via check and electronic transfer.
At the time the MAARC report reached local law enforcement, the victim had an outstanding bill of nearly $29,000 at the Rochester care facility, and the Amundsons’ transfers from her account into their own totalled just over $98,000 between Jan. 2018 and December 2020.
According to court documents filed in May, the transfers date back to January 2018, shortly before the victim’s Lewy Body Dementia progressed to a point where the Amundsons placed her in a care home.
According to court documents, the transfers rendered the victim ineligible for Medical Assistance and her medical bills were unpaid since April 2021.
According to court documents, the transfer amounts were as follows:
January 2018 through June 2018: $20,957.15
July 2018 through December 2018: $10,000
January 2019 through June 2019: $34,334
July 2019 through December 2019: $1,500
January 2020 through June 2020: $10,500
July 2020 through December 2020: $20,900
The total amount of all the transfers is $98,191.15.
The Amundsons’ pretrial is scheduled for May 11, 2023, with a trial scheduled May 22, 2023.