Prosecutors claim that a Michigan woman took money raised by a charity she ran and used it for personal expenses. She has been charged with embezzlement related to nearly $20,000 in allegedly misused donations.
The Michigan Attorney General’s office told WDIV that the woman held several charitable gaming events a poker room in Flint between January 2011 and October 2013. The events were to raise money for Community Kids Martial Arts Science, which taught martial arts to children, as well as providing tutoring and other opportunities.
The AG’s office accuses the suspect of using a portion of the money raised to pay bills for herself and a business she owned. She is also accused of continuing to hold fundraisers after the organization lost nonprofit status, and of giving investigators a falsified lease document.
If convicted of all seven counts against her, the woman could face years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.
It is important to remember that the WDIV report, like almost all news stories about people getting arrested, is based almost entirely on information from police and prosecutors. There are two sides to every story, and we do not know the woman’s version of events.
White collar crimes like embezzlement are often very technical in nature, and proving a case can be difficult for prosecutors. However, this also means that you need a defense attorney who is thoroughly familiar with white collar law and what it takes to mount a vigorous defense, such as (in many cases) the use of expert witnesses.