A 60-year-old St. Louis man has avoided prison time in a sprawling unclaimed-property fraud case that prosecutors say targeted nearly $580,000. On Thursday, Judge Janice Cunningham sentenced Dwayne Johnson to 12 months of probation in Eaton County, making him the third and final defendant to be punished in the scheme. Two co-defendants from Mount Pleasant were hit with multi-year prison terms earlier this winter.
According to a press release from the Michigan Attorney General, Averill Dintaman and Daniel Nolan conspired in 2022 to steal the identity of a Michigan man and used a forged durable power of attorney to try to snag an unclaimed-property check for $579,551.99. The Department of Treasury referred the matter to the Attorney General, and the defendants were charged in May 2025.
How the scheme unfolded
Prosecutors say Dintaman and Nolan first used the forged power of attorney to obtain an initial check. They then allegedly brought Johnson into the mix, recruiting him to pose as the intended payee at the Department of Treasury’s Unclaimed Property office so they could get a second copy of the check. That second attempt is what prosecutors say raised red flags for Treasury staff and ultimately led to the referral to the Attorney General’s office, according to WILX.
Sentences and court timeline
From there, the case moved steadily through the courts. Judge Janice Cunningham of the 56th Circuit Court sentenced Averill Dintaman and Daniel Nolan to three to 20 years in prison, with Dintaman sentenced in December and Nolan in January. Johnson, by contrast, received 12 months of probation on Thursday, according to reporting from MLive. All three convictions stem from guilty pleas entered last fall and winter.
What residents should know
The Michigan Department of Treasury maintains an Unclaimed Property database where residents can search for money in their name and report suspected fraud. The agency rolled out a refreshed unclaimed-property website last year, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury. State officials advise that if you receive unexpected calls, letters or documents about unclaimed funds, you should contact the Treasury or the Attorney General’s office before sharing any personal identification…