HOUGHTON — Jason Heikkinen of Dollar Bay was sentenced on Monday in the 12th Circuit Court in Houghton and charged with Embezzlement – Person in a Relationship of Trust with a Vulnerable Adult.

47-year-old Heikkinen was a car salesman at a Houghton area car dealership and developed a relationship with an elderly woman whom he had sold cars to over the years. When the woman was placed in a nursing home, her bills were managed by a financial institution who eventually stopped handling them. Heikkinen became the woman’s conservator, managing her finances for a small fee as the woman had no family nearby to assist her. Heikkinen took advantage of the situation, putting both her house and portfolio in his name, as well as selling her personal property.

The situation was made known to authorities when the woman’s bank account had dwindled down to nearly nothing from an approximately $70,000 balance. The bank’s manager alerted the Michigan State Police, leading to an investigation that has been ongoing since 2023. According to an MSP press release, the investigation found that Heikkinen had spent over $130,000 of the elderly woman’s funds and sold her property without anyone’s knowledge or permission to do so.

Heikkinen was sentenced Monday following a plea agreement. The sentence includes serving 180 days in jail, with credit for one day served, requiring 89 days to be served immediately. The remaining 90 days will be served if probation is violated.

Heikkinen was also sentenced to 24 months of probation and must pay $179,250 in restitution.