Judge Drain orders 11-year prison term in $19M embezzlement
DETROIT (AP) — Calling the theft “staggering,” a judge sentenced a man to 11 years in prison Thursday for embezzling nearly $19 million from a suburban Detroit credit union.
Michael LaJoice’s greed over 12 years made Clarkston Brandon Community Credit Union insolvent. It merged in 2016 with Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, a few months after he walked inside the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and confessed.
“I used to think that money can buy happiness. That’s not the case,” LaJoice said in court. “I don’t have to live a lie anymore.”
LaJoice, who was chief financial officer at the credit union, bought a luxurious home, fancy cars and commercial properties, and sometimes traveled by private jet. U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain said he had to send a strong message to the community with a stiff sentence.
“It’s staggering,” Drain said of the stolen millions.
“It’s unfortunate that you fell for the trappings of wealth. There was no real desperation that you were facing,” the judge said.
Drain followed the sentencing recommendation of prosecutors. Defense attorney Michael Manley asked for a five-year prison term.
“The scale is really breathtaking. ... This was not a one-time lapse in judgment,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Neal said.
Wayne Law to host talk on unrest in Egypt
Mohamed Arafa, assistant professor of criminal law at Alexandria University Faculty of Law (Egypt) and adjunct professor of Islamic law & Middle Eastern legal studies at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law will speak on Tuesday, March 28, at Wayne State University Law School.
His talk, “Terrorism under International Criminal Law: Egypt’s War on Terrorism-Quo Vadis?” will address the relevance of international law on terrorism to the situation in Egypt. He will discuss if or how actions of the Egyptian government violate treaties such as the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombing, if any of its actions constitute international crimes, and how developments in Egypt relate to the ongoing unrest in other parts of the Middle East and North Africa.
The free lecture will be from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium at the law school, 471 W. Palmer St. Lunch will be provided. Parking is available for $7.50 (credit or debit cards only) in Parking Structure No. 1 across West Palmer Street from Wayne Law. The lecture is sponsored by the law school’s Program for International Legal Studies.
Arafa earned his LL.B. from Alexandria University Faculty of Law; his LL.M. from the University of Connecticut School of Law and his Doctor of Juridical Science from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He is the author of Towards A New Anti-Corruption Law in Egypt After Mubarak: A Comparative Study Between the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Egyptian Anti-Bribery Law, and Islamic Law, published in Germany by Lambert Academic Publishing.
For more information about this event, contact Professor Gregory Fox, director of the Program for International Legal Studies, at (313) 577-0110 or gfox@wayne.edu.
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