A Hurricane man was sentenced in 5th district court in St. George after stealing more than $127,000 from an elderly client’s accounts.
Gage Wallace Hedberg, 32, was sentenced for unlawful dealing of property by a fiduciary and financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, two second-degree felonies.
Hedberg was under investigation by the Utah Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit after allegations that he misappropriated $160,000-$197,000 from a client while providing personal care.
Hedberg owned and operated his own caregiving business called Like Family Personal Care. He began providing nonmedical care for an elderly woman in November of 2022. After he obtained power of attorney in June of 2023, prosecutors say her financial activity changed drastically.
The prosecutors said that over a two-year period there were over 400 separate transactions made by Hedberg using the woman’s money. After the suspect’s spending, only about $3,000 was left in her account.
Hedberg deposited $105,000 into the court’s trust account to be given back to the woman, which changed the course of the trial.
Hedberg later addressed the court.
“(She) doesn’t know who she can trust anymore, and I did that to her,” Hedberg said about his former client.
District Judge Jack Burns ordered Hedberg to serve 30 days in Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility, followed by 36 months of probation. Burns suspended two sentences of 1-to-15 years in prison.
Author: Andrew Streeter
Photo courtesy of Cody Blowers, St. George News
Editor: Hannah Clove
news@suunews.net
