In early June, 48-year-old Steven Thomas Keene, a sheriff’s deputy with the Cass County Sheriff’s Department for 25 years, was charged with several counts related to the alleged staging of an accident so that a friend could collect insurance money to purchase a new car. Kalamazoo County Chief Assistant Prosecutor…
On Tuesday June 4 Michael Grundy pleaded guilty to wire fraud involving the transfer of $400,000 to Medtrix, Grundy’s company, from Wayne County’s health insurance agency. Grundy is a former Assistant Wayne County Executive; he was fired by Robert Ficano in late 2011 when news of the FBI investigation involving…
Last week two men were sentenced to federal prison in connection with a tax scheme after they were found to be filing false tax returns on behalf of clients, then sharing the proceeds. Chad Anthony Chertos, a 37-year-old Ada resident, and Gregory Edward VanDyke, a 39-year-old Newaygo man, were both…
Matthew Daniels, a 46-year-old Grand Haven man who pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return, was sentenced on Wednesday, May 8 to six months in federal prison. Daniels was also ordered to pay more than $119,000 in restitution to the IRS after he allegedly under-reported his income by $362,000…
Celeste Foster, a 39-year-old Lansing woman, was charged with numerous counts of writing bad checks and embezzling more than $1,000 from a nonprofit recently. Foster allegedly embezzled more than $17,000 from the Waverly Junior Warriors Football program during a one-year period spanning from October 2011 to October 2012; she was…
Michael Winans, son of famed gospel quartet member Michael Winans Sr. of The Winans, was sentenced in a federal courtroom to 14 years in prison on Wednesday, February 27 for his role in a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors recommended Winans be sentenced to at least 12 1/2 years; Judge Sean…
Kenneth Hoesch, a former Zeeland attorney and city Board of Public Works chair, recently pleaded guilty to mail fraud; he will now face 6 1/2 years in prison after being sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker. Federal sentencing guidelines, which are only a baseline designed to assist judges in…
Babubhai “Bob” Patel, a 50-year-old Canton man who owned 26 pharmacies in the Detroit area, was sentenced on February 1 to 17 years in prison for what federal investigators called an “elaborate scheme” to defraud Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medicaid, and Medicare. Patel was also ordered to pay restitution of…
William Edward Lowder of Williamsburg has pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false federal income tax return and one count of wire fraud, after it was determined by investigators that the 57-year-old insurance agent was bilking his elderly clients out of their investments. Lowder allegedly stole more than…
A Hamtramck doctor has been put out of business, for now, after being accused of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and Medicare fraud. Dr. Qandil Basil, along with eight other people, was arrested according to Hamtramck police records. Prosecutors claim that Qandil issued more prescriptions in the month of…