Minnesota Man Who Defrauded Elderly Victim Pleads Guilty in Federal Court

A man who defrauded an elderly victim by abusing his power of attorney entered a plea of guilty on October 18, 2023, in federal court in Sioux City.

Hamilton Girard, age 65, of Stillwater, Minnesota, was charged with 1 Count of Wire Fraud.

In the plea agreement, Girard admitted that in February, 2020, he was designated as an agent, and given power of attorney and for an elderly person diagnosed with early onset dementia.  Girard, acting with power of attorney, misappropriated approximately $149,000 of the victim’s funds.  Girard signed and issued unauthorized checks from the victim’s personal checking account to purchase items such as home improvement and home construction-related goods and services for his own benefit.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Girard remains free on bond previously set. Girard faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3-years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being investigated by FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 23-3015.

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