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.
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