IONIA, Mich. (AP) — A jury in western Michigan has found the
ex-owner of Ionia County funeral homes guilty on all counts in a case
that accuses him of creating false death certificates and stealing about
$500,000.
Michigan Assistant Attorney General Denise Hart says
checks were written to the personal business account of Marti Schrauben
after he submitted dozen of claims to insurance companies for people who
were alive.
On Monday, an Ionia County Circuit Court jury found
the 40-year-old guilty of 26 counts that include embezzlement,
racketeering and forgery.
No sentencing date was immediately set. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Schrauben
took a plea deal in 2013 but it fell apart after Judge David Hoort said
he couldn’t follow the maximum one-year jail sentence.