Michigan criminal defense and embezzlement attorneys have been busy lately. White collar theft crime was prominent in the local news headlines this week.
Several embezzlement cases cropped up around the state
Bay County
Criminal charges were filed against a Saginaw man, Joel Wilson, for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme.
Three victims were allegedly fleeced of nearly $500,000 through an investment firm called the Diversified Group Advisory Fund, LLC. According to WNEM, Wilson is believed to have scammed investors by claiming money was used to repair and sell homes for a profit. Wilson allegedly pocketed almost $50,000 to buy personal items.
Facing nine charges in Bay County District Court, Wilson is not in custody nor has he been arraigned yet.
Oceana County
David Jon Zachariason pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement for taking approximately $40,000 while employed in the Rothbury Double JJ Resort’s accounting department.
According to MLive, Zachariason told the judge he took the money by altering account information. An investigation was launched in August after a CPA caught discrepancies in the resort’s financial accounts.
Zachariason already repaid $4,100 of the embezzled funds. Next month he will be sentenced which is capped at 4 ½ months.
Montcalm County
In Greenville, the Department of Public Safety is commencing an investigation of an embezzlement of over $12,000 from the Walnut Hills Parent-Teacher Organization.
Attorney Jeff Kortes told Wood TV that his client, PTO treasurer Laura Outen, is the suspect. Kortes stated that Outen was in financial trouble and took the money to pay toward her household expenses. He also stated Outen is working on a way to pay the funds back to the PTO.
Initially, PTO board members noticed some financial irregularities. Upon investigating the irregularities, the district finance director suggested the group call the authorities. The investigation is expected to be finished by next week and then the case will be turned over to the Montcalm County Prosecutor’s Office for potential criminal charges.
Monroe County
A Toledo woman, Sharon Broadway, was sentenced to at least 45 months in prison for embezzling $2.1 million from a credit union in Michigan. A judge also ordered her to pay $2,598,000 in restitution and forbid her from working in the financial industry as well.
Broadway previously pleaded guilty to felony embezzlement and racketeering. CBS Detroit reported that Broadway embezzled money from the United Catholic Credit Union for nearly 20 years, covering her tracks by not recording certificates of deposit on the credit union books. The credit union was so small that Broadway was described as the sole employee, manager, secretary, and board member. The embezzlement was discovered during a routine examination by regulators.
A Reputation for Success
The Kronzek Firm PLC, has defended white collar crimes for nearly 20 years. Our firm is sensitive and responsive to the needs of business clients. If you have questions about embezzlement, [link to embezzlement page] we can help.
Financial crimes can sometimes be quite complex. As a full-service law firm, we utilize an array of expert witnesses to aid in building a strong defense. Because the penalties are becoming increasingly severe for theft crimes, you may not do well with a “garden variety” criminal defense attorney. We aggressively defend our clients’ rights at every stage of the case, starting with the investigation. Our diligent, comprehensive approach to case management and strategy has yielded many outstanding case results for our clients, including defending multi-million dollar embezzlement case while avoiding prison and jail for our clients.