IONIA, Mich. (AP) - A jury in western Michigan has the case of a funeral home director accused of embezzling nearly $500,000, partly by creating false death certificates.
Lawyers gave closing arguments Friday. 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.
But Schrauben’s attorney blames a business partner at Lehman Funeral Homes. He says Schrauben was thrown “under the bus.” The Ionia County jury returns for more work Monday.
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.
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