Ypsilanti man sentenced after embezzling more than 100K from elderly victim

An Ypsilanti man has been sentenced to six months in jail which was suspended by the court, two years’ probation and ordered to pay restitution for embezzling more than $100,000 from a vulnerable adult, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday.

Calium Turnage, 59, appeared Monday before Judge Patrick Conlin in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. His sentencing follows a plea deal he entered in March in which he pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult over $100,000, a 20-year felony.  

Conlin sentenced Turnage to six months in jail—which is held in abeyance during the probation period – and two years’ probation. Turnage is also responsible for paying restitution of about $140,000 to the estate of the victim, who is now deceased. Turnage is also not to work in care of the elderly or disabled, nor is he allowed to have access to funds belonging to someone else.  

“The defendant clearly took advantage of the victim’s vulnerability and this unconscionable act of financial exploitation is an example of why we established the Elder Abuse Task Force,” said Nessel. “We must protect the most vulnerable people in our state by taking steps that not only hold bad actors accountable for their actions, but also deter this behavior from taking place at all.”

This case was handled by the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Unit. Nessel has made addressing elder abuse a top initiative during her term as Attorney General and helped establish the Michigan Elder Abuse Task Force in 2019.  

To view more about the task force, the attorney general’s initiative and how to report suspected elder abuse, visit the Department of Attorney General’s website at www.michigan.gov/ag.