Tag: Fraud

Its irritating to the core. So, after hearing that sixty two former employees of Pinnacle Foods (in Imlay Township) have been convicted and sentenced for unemployment fraud, I immediately wondered what might foster such an environment of this kind of cheating.  It was discovered that the former employees had been wrongfully collecting unemployment benefits while continuing to work. And in the end, all of the individuals convicted, were ordered to pay restitution totaling $960,012 to the State of Michigan.

Shaun Thomas, acting director of the UIA said

"Through great work of the Lapeer County Prosecutor's office, working together with our UIA investigators, we were able to bring these cases to justice and take another step toward rooting out UI fraud in Michigan. The UIA is serious about detecting and preventing fraud and will continue to work with partners such as the Lapeer County Prosecutor's Office to stop fraudulent schemes such as this one."

Those big dollars never came back did they?

Nope.

This Pinnacle UI fraud effort represents the largest single prosecution of unemployment fraud from one employer in Michigan history. But not the largest fraud that involves a company that has received money from bread winners and other business owners struggling to survive in an era of unprecedented regulatory nightmares and work place rules.

But wait .. there is more!

For fraud, Money laundering,tax evasion,lying under oath,.. little stuff like that.

Ouch.

AND in the mean time, the Judicial Tenure Commission has indicated it would like the Supreme court to suspend the sitting Michigan Supreme Court Justice immediately.

"The Judicial Tenure Commission, through its Examiner, requests that the Supreme Court give immediate consideration to its petition for interim suspension filed concurrently with this motion, based on the following:

1. Respondent is, and at all material times was, a justice of the Supreme Court, State of Michigan.
   
2. As a judge, Respondent is subject to all the duties and responsibilities imposed on her by the Michigan Supreme Court, including those under the Code of Judicial Conduct, and is subject to the standards for discipline set forth in MCR 9.104 and MCR 9.205.
   
3. On January 7, 2013, the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission (JTC) authorized a formal complaint (FC 91) against Hon. Diane Marie Hathaway (Respondent), currently a Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court1, and the filing of a Petition for Interim Suspension with the Supreme Court.

...

7. The formal complaint and petition are also based on allegations that Respondent admitted to engaging in the fraudulent concealment of assets from potential creditors as to the Florida property, and misrepresentations to the Commission in the course of its investigation.
   
8. The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Wednesday, January 9, 2013.
   
9. In order to preserve the integrity of the judiciary and to protect the public, the petition for interim suspension should be considered and decided before that date.

WHEREFORE, pursuant to MCR 7.313(A)(5), the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission requests that this Honorable Court give immediate consideration to its Petition for Interim Suspension."

A side note:  Respondent is disqualified from considering this motion. See MCR 2.003; MCR 9.204(A); In re Justin, 490 Mich 394 (2012).

Continually feeding us the economic benefit angle of government intervention in free markets, leaders love to pad the wallets of their best buds in industry. To do so requires a "cause" however,as simply jacking the public treasury for personal gain is abhorrent to those on BOTH sides of the political divide. Climate change has become one of the easiest causes to gather around, because the science is so ambiguous, its been simply easier for governments to act and perhaps err on the side of caution.

So we promote and enhance business models that are designed to combat climate change with other peoples' money. Also included in these 'causes' is the argument that "new jobs are created" with the development of such technology.  Such was the case with A123 Systems:

"In 2009, A123 received millions in federal and state funds, for the creation of jobs for Michiganders. Taxpayers  unwillingly, or unwittingly saw their paychecks shrink for promises never realized, and now they may have ultimately subsidized a technology transfer to a competing world power."

But the cherry in the pie is something even more disturbing.  Adding insult to injury, the failure to produce promised results for taxpayer paid incentives and gratuity is now lining the pockets of the failed executives who apparently understand private public partnerships better than the rest of us.

Its a place where only the taxpayer loses:

"The top executives who presided over its failure - and supported the president's cap-and-tax initiatives early in his term - are likely to receive millions of dollars in bonuses, thanks to their scheming earlier this year and a bankruptcy court judge."

High-dollar political donors associated with Michigan's labor movement are encouraged and instructed on how to hide limitless, undisclosed campaign contributions in secret slush funds, according to a leaked letter and PowerPoint presentation being distributed by Andrew Nickelhoff, the union lawyer behind Proposal 2 and 4.

The leaked private letter and PowerPoint stands in stark contrast to hypocritical public statements from supporters of Proposal 2, Nickelhoff's employers, who have insincerely and hypocritically called other organizations "shadowy."

"The scheme by Proposal 2 and 4's attorney to solicit secret, undisclosed campaign contributions is another example of Prop 2 supporter's continuing pattern of deception and hypocisy," said Nick De Leeuw, Spokesman for Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution.  "Nickelhoff infamously told voters they'd simply have to "guess" what his deceptive ballot proposal would do; now he is caught instructing donors how to hide their contributions."

In a letter dated May 9 and distributed to potential donors, Nickelhoff solicited and outlined in detail how high-dollar donors could contribute potentially millions of dollars to a secret slush fund without ever disclosing their identity.

Using the "Keep home care safe" canard, these rotten thieves are literally asking for permission from Michigan voters to steal from those who can least afford it.  They are asking voters to endorse a harder life for the handicapped, the unfortunate, and looking to kick them when they are down. A yes vote would be akin to removing the wheels from a paraplegic's chair.

Under Jennifer Granholm, they (the unions and her administration) did it, and Snyder's failure to FIRE former head of community health Olga Dazzo right away gave these reprobates the courage to keep this farce alive through court action.  In the meantime families of those afflicted with debilitating conditions must suffer a little longer. The mass fraud her administration perpetrated, ought to have seen our former governor and her toadie lt. behind bars.

Its that bad.

Just imagine, life is clicking along fine, then something happens to a family member. Something that takes their ability to provide for themselves, or even perform the most rudimentary tasks.  A decision is made to either institutionalize them, (at great cost to the taxpayer typically) OR a career is suspended, and a job is given up by a family member to personally handle the situation.

We have made the decision as a state that we will provide that safety net, as it meets the definition of truly needy. IF we are going to provide assistance, that is an appropriate use. The better alternative for taxpayers is chosen.  Keeping folks in their homes is by far less expensive, and offers the afflicted a dignity seldom found in the institutional environment. As family members take on those responsibilities, it quite obviously comes at a cost.  A stipend is provided by the state to pay those family members for the loss of income they incur.

Then someone walks in the door and steals the silverware.

House Speaker Jase Bolger personally appealed Monday to Ingham County Circuit Court judges to reject a request to empanel a one-judge grand jury to investigate a foiled election-rigging scheme in a Kent County legislative district.

Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer and state party chairman Mark Brewer petitioned the court last week to launch its own probe into Bolger and state Rep. Roy Schmidt's attempt earlier this year to plant a fake Democrat in the 76th District and allow Schmidt to become a Republican with a patsy opponent.

Kent County Prosecutor Bill Forsyth determined in July that no crime was committed after Schmidt's faux opponent, a 22-year-old friend of his son and nephew, dropped out of the race days after filing in May. But Democrats have called Forsyth's investigation into question after the Republican prosecutor acknowledged cancelling warrants to search Bolger's phone records and Schmidt's phone and email records.

A Michigan State Police detective said he had probable cause that Bolger and Schmidt may have caused subornation of perjury by knowingly procuring Matthew Mojzak to commit perjury by falsely claiming to be a 76th District resident for at least 30 days prior to the May 15 filing date.

Rest here

One such lesson that I remember well occurred when I walked into my mom's kitchen complaining that my brothers' and sister's bedrooms were absolute pig stys.  Because my mom was busy (canning vegetables if I remember correctly), my gran-ma - who was assisting - offered to take a look.  Sure enough, standing there in the upstairs hall, she was looking right through a pair of already-open doors into bedrooms for which the description of "disorganized" would have been charitable.  However, it also occurred to her to open the door to my bedroom and see what might be seen.  While my bedroom was noticeably tidier, it was nowhere close to her exacting standards.

This observation was followed by my grandmother fixing me with a no-nonsense look and saying rather sternly, "I should think, young man, that before you go complaining about someone else's room, you ought to first make sure yours is clean."  Point made; lesson learned; end of conversation.

And now, to apply that lesson, we should grab some coffee and duck below the fold.