GRATIOT COUNTY (WWJ) – A Walled Lake man is facing embezzlement charges after authorities claim he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his mother’s bank account when she entered a residential care facility in 2021.
And he allegedly spent the money on shopping sprees at retailers such as Amazon and Meijer, officials said.
Matthew Rule, 40, of Walled Lake, was arraigned Monday (Jan.31) in the 65B District Court in Gratiot County on one count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult between $50,000 – $100,000, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a press released on Tuesday.
Rule faces up to 15 years behind bars if convicted of the felony charge, which is also punishable by a fine of up to $15,000 or three times the value of the money or property involved — whichever is higher.
Nessel said Rule had access to several bank accounts belonging to his mother while she stayed at the care home between March and October of 2021.
Rule withdrew between $50,000 and $100,000 from the accounts for his own uses, Nessel’s office added.