A last-minute guilty plea Monday morning ended Jeffery Amundson's trial before it even began.
The former president of the Rochester Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, accused of stealing thousands of dollars from a vulnerable adult, entered an Alford plea of guilty to one of four felony counts against him.
Amundson was originally charged with four counts of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. As part of a plea agreement, one count was amended to theft; Amundson pleaded guilty to that. In exchange, the remaining counts are expected to be dismissed at sentencing, which is set for June 6.
With an Alford plea, the defendant maintains his innocence, but acknowledges that the evidence would be sufficient to convict him.
The charges against Amundson, 46, were filed in January 2015, after an employee at a licensed group home in Rochester told authorities that Amundson had been spending the victim's money on himself, and the victim was receiving only $20 per month.
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That prompted authorities to gather the victim's financial records from 2010-2013. An analysis of those records revealed numerous suspicious debit card purchases, including many restaurant and online purchases, as well as cash withdrawals by Amundson, court documents say.
When questioned by authorities, Amundson denied stealing the funds, claiming the victim owed him $20,000 because he had "paid for the victim's apartment and helped him get Social Security benefits and medical assistance," according to the complaint.
Amundson had once told staff with Olmsted County Adult Protective Services that the victim owed him $50,000.
Court documents itemize more than $18,500 spent by Amundson from January 2011 through December 2013.
He told investigators, however, that he'd been taking money for about a year, tracking the amount, but said a fire destroyed the paperwork that documented it.
The RSOC assured its members that its financial integrity hadn't been compromised. Amundson, who'd been with the organization since April 2011, was placed on unpaid status in April 2015.
