Probate public officials terminated, resign after 7 Action News investigation

LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) - The 7 Investigators continue to get results for grieving families in Michigan.  The Attorney General is terminating one of the public officials accused of cashing in on a controversial probate practice, and another public official has resigned.

And even though new legislation has been introduced because of our investigation, the Attorney General is now telling the 7 Investigators that he wants the changes to the law to go even farther.

“They’re messing with my home -- where I live! How dare they,” said Joanne Zaremba.

Several local families say they nearly lost their late relatives’ homes after some Attorney General-appointed lawyers called Public Administrators teamed up with real estate agent Ralph Roberts to cash in on probate estates.

“I find properties.  I believe there’s a benefit, so I then tell a public administrator, here’s the benefit there,” Ralph Roberts told 7 Investigator Heather Catallo in November 2016.

The Public Administrators bill the estates for thousands of dollars in fees.  Court records show that Roberts’ company, Probate Asset Recovery, often tried to take 1/3 of the value of the assets, plus Roberts earned real estate commissions (often 4% instead of the typical 3%).

Oakland County Sheriff’s investigators and federal agents recently raided Ralph Roberts offices as part of an ongoing criminal probe.  (Click to Continue)

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Probate public officials terminated, resign after 7 Action News investigation