Santa Rosa, CA – May 14, 2018 – Defendant
Theodore Hudson, 53 years old of Cloverdale, was found guilty by a jury Friday
afternoon after an almost two month long trial of 9 felony counts of theft from
an elder. The jury also found true sentencing enhancements that alleged each
theft offense resulted in over $500 thousand in loss.
District
Attorney Ravitch stated, “This defendant gained the trust of the victim and her
now deceased husband over several years. While they were in an incredibly
vulnerable position he took advantage of them. Unfortunately, this type of
elder abuse is not uncommon. We are thankful for the jury’s service and their
thoughtful verdicts.”
The charges
resulted from an investigation initiated by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s
Department in July of 2016 after the 94 year old victim reported that her
longtime caregiver had taken approximately $1.5 million from her bank accounts
without her authorization. In addition to the thefts from her accounts, the
victim discovered that the defendant had transferred to himself the deeds to
several of her commercial properties.
At trial the
victim testified over several days that she and her husband, who died in 2015,
had initially met the defendant in 2009 when they hired him to do yard work and
gardening. Over time, the defendant began doing maintenance on their commercial
properties, dealing with tenants, and assisting the victims with their personal
needs. Although the victims paid the defendant a monthly salary, he became
verbally abusive demanding more money. In 2016 the victim discovered from
reading her bank statement that the defendant had been transferring money from
her account. Further, he had transferred her commercial properties to himself
from which he was receiving $90 thousand a month in rental income.
The case
returns to court Thursday, June 14 for sentencing. The defendant was remanded
into custody and faces a potential sentence of 25 years in state prison. The
case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Carla Rodriguez, assisted by
District Attorney Investigator Matthew Stapleton. Tom Piersol of the
Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department headed the investigation.
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