July 5, 2023
Last week, Fifth District Court Judge Ann Marie McKiff Allen sentenced Megan Ramirez to 45 days in jail. He ordered her to pay full financial restitution for the economic exploitation of her grandfather, a vulnerable adult living in a care center.
The Medicaid Fraud and Patient Abuse Division of the Utah Attorney General’s Office investigated and prosecuted this case. Ramirez used her power of attorney over her grandfather to sell his California home. She then spent the proceeds from that sale to buy a home in Beaver, naming only herself on the home’s title.
Ramirez moved her grandfather into the basement of that home but later placed him in a rehabilitation center. Ramirez then spent all his money on someone other than her grandfather, failed to pay for his care in the rehabilitation center, and lost the Beaver home to foreclosure. These actions left the vulnerable adult with no funds of his own. The State of Utah, through Medicaid, now pays for his remaining care.
As Judge Allen imposed the sentence for this third-degree felony, she commented that the defendant’s actions were despicable. During sentencing, prosecutor Kaye Lynn Wootton noted how difficult it is to plan for retirement, save for medical care, and lose everything you have worked so hard for.
Ramirez was sentenced to pay full restitution and taken to jail, where she will serve 45 days.
According to Judge Allen, if Ramirez is one day late or one dollar short on restitution, the defendant will likely spend an additional 75 days in jail and possibly five days at the Utah State Prison.
