Clinton Township woman sentenced for embezzlement from a senior care facility

A Clinton Township woman was sentenced February 2 in the 16th Circuit Court in Macomb County for the charge of Embezzlement by an Agent or Trustee over $1,000 and less than $20,000, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.    

Tina Coleman, 47, was sentenced by Judge Matthew Sabaugh to:

• 6 Months in Macomb County Jail.
• 24 Months’ Probation (including the 6 in custody).
• Restitution totaling $73,521.68, after she is released from jail.

“Seniors and their families entrust these residential facilities, and their employees, with their lives and livelihoods,” said Nessel. “Coleman violated that trust, and I am grateful that Judge Sabaugh recognized the severity of that crime.”

LakePointe Senior Care and Rehabilitation Center, located in Clinton Township, employed Coleman as the Business Office Manager. The center conducted an audit over discrepancies discovered with a deposit in September 2021, and found 65 unauthorized trust checks were written to five unknown individuals between March 13, 2017, and September 16, 2021. The investigation revealed that Coleman wrote the checks and had individuals cash them for her. Coleman was not authorized by the facility to write the checks, or receive any money from them, as the funds were placed in trust for the residents of the facility.

The attorney general’s Health Care Fraud Division (HCFD) handled the case for the Department. The HCFD is the federally certified Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for Michigan, and it receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $5,196,188 for the fiscal year 2023. The remaining 25% percent, totaling $1,732,061, is funded by the State of Michigan.