Category Archives: Fraud & Theft Crimes

Being accused of a crime is scary. Being accused of a crime that you didn’t commit is terrifying. But that’s exactly what happened to Jonna Ferguson. After the Corinthian Colleges closed down the Everest Institute, she was out of a job and had to rely on unemployment from the state of Michigan. But just a […]

One man has recently pled guilty to charges stemming from what authorities are calling a massive tax fraud scheme that cost the federal government millions of dollars. The defendant, 45-year-old Bobby Crabtree, is one of 34 people from Battle Creek, in Calhoun County who have been indicted so far in connection with this case.   […]

Dr. Bassel Altantawi, a 45-year-old doctor from Farmington Hills, Michigan is facing charges for allegations of medicare fraud. The case was announced recently by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who says that Altantawi is accused of 22 counts of fraud for allegedly billing for services he did not provide. The doctor, who practices medicine out […]

  If you aren’t familiar with the term “skimming”, it refers to the criminal act of “skimming” information from a credit card, usually for later personal use. It is surprisingly easy to accomplish by using a skimming device, which is attached to an ATM or gas station pumps, and puts all of your credit card […]

Ponzi Scheme Trial Rescheduled for Michigan Man  Troy Barnes, a 53-year-old resident of Riverview, Michigan, has been accused of operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors out of millions of dollars. Barnes and his co-conspirator, Kristine Louise Johnson of Aurora, Colorado, are now facing federal charges. And the possibility of many years behind […]

Man Admits to Armed Robbery of Gas Station In May of 2013, Tyler J. Venema applied for a job at a BP gas station near his home. He was not hired, and as a result, he turned to the only option he could see available to him at the time. Armed robbery.

Larceny Conviction Could Mean Jail Time Bay City Commissioner Chad A. Sibley is in trouble. But unlike so many other politicians in the spotlight these days, he isn’t in trouble for stealing money, driving drunk or sleeping with someone else’s wife. What makes this case different is the fact that Sibley is in trouble for […]

Lansing Woman Gets 6 Months in Jail Nicole Armbruster, the 36-year-old Lansing woman accused of embezzlement and welfare fraud, received her Uttering and Publishing sentencing in the Ingham County Circuit Court. Given the nature of the charges, and Armbruster’s history, she actually received a rather lenient sentence from Judge Joyce Draganchuk.

Tax Fraud Conviction Likely to Result in Prison Time Happy Asker, the Detroit-based founder of Happy’s Pizza, is due in court for sentencing. As a result of having allegedly under-reported income and defrauded the government out of millions of dollars, he has been convicted on a single charge of conspiracy, along with 32 counts of […]

Then Again, Maybe Not…. It is against the law to impersonate an officer of the law. So when the 17-year-old from Ann Arbor called the Cueter Chrysler dealership in Ypsilanti Township, asking that a 2015 Dodge Charger be dropped off at his location for a test drive, he hadn’t broken the law… yet.