DeWitt Man Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement, Tax Fraud

October 27, 2023

LANSING – Yesterday, Peter Counseller, 57, of DeWitt, pled guilty to one count of Embezzlement of $100,000 or More and two counts of Filing False Tax Returns, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Counseller agreed to pay full restitution of $114,569.86 to the 90-year-old victim and $10,211.00 to the Michigan Department of Treasury. Counseller made an initial payment toward this sum of $60,000 at the time of his plea. As part of a plea agreement, the Court delayed Counseller’s sentencing for approximately 11 months. If Counseller pays full restitution during this delay, he will be sentenced on reduced charges.   

Counseller was charged for an elder financial abuse scheme in which he stole thousands of dollars from a 90-year-old woman. He used the victim’s money without her consent to pay his mortgage, take vacations, and pay other personal expenses. Counseller failed to report this income on his Michigan income tax returns.   

“Michigan’s elderly adults deserve vigilant protection from thieves who would devastate a lifetime of savings and financial management for their own enrichment,” said Nessel. “My office will continue to prosecute, to the fullest extent of the law, people who abuse the trust of vulnerable adults.” 

Counseller will appear again before Judge James S. Jamo in the 30th Circuit Court in Ingham County for Final Sentencing on September 11, 2024.   

To learn more about the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Task force and its initiatives, visit the Attorney General’s website.

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DeWitt Man Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement, Tax Fraud

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DeWitt Man Arrested, Charged on Financial Elder Abuse

DeWitt Man Arrested, Charged on Financial Elder Abuse

June 02, 2023

LANSING – Today, Peter Counseller, 56, of DeWitt, was arraigned before Judge Lisa Babcock in the 54B District Court in East Lansing on one count of Embezzlement by an Agent in excess of $100,000, one count of Embezzlement from a Vulnerable Adult in excess of $100,000, and two counts of filing false tax returns for an alleged elder abuse scheme, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Each embezzlement count is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Counseller is alleged to have stolen tens of thousands of dollars across the years of 2020 and 2021 from a ninety-year-old legally blind woman. He allegedly used her money to pay his mortgage, take vacations, and pay other personal expenses. Despite having all this extra income, Counseller failed to report this income on his Michigan income tax returns.

“Financial exploitation of vulnerable adults in our state is not only a serious crime with substantial felony penalties, but also an assault on the wellbeing and security of elderly Michigan residents,” said Nessel. “My office puts a high priority on defending Michigan’s seniors from being victimized by thieves and fraudsters and we will continue to hold the perpetrators of elder abuse accountable.”

A probable cause conference is scheduled before Judge Lisa L. Babcock at the 54B District Court on June15, 2023. Judge Babcock ordered Counseller held on a $50,000 cash/surety bond.

To learn more about the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Task force and its initiatives, visit the Attorney General’s website.

Please note: A criminal charge is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The Department of Attorney General does not provide booking photos.

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DeWitt Man Arrested, Charged on Financial Elder Abuse

Women charged with financial elder abuse enter not guilty pleas

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A woman and her daughter arrested last month and charged with financial elder abuse have pleaded not guilty in the case.

Linda Ann Mafrice, 63, of Clearlake, and Meghan Mariana DeMarco, 29, of Kelseyville, entered the pleas in Lake County Superior Court on Wednesday, according to Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson.

Abelson said both women are scheduled for a disposition or setting of a preliminary hearing at 8:15 a.m. Jan. 15.

Both were arrested on Oct. 18 for financial elder abuse, grand theft, conspiracy, forgery and altering medical records, as Lake County News has reported.

The victim in the case is Dan Hamblin, Mafrice’s longtime boyfriend.

He also was the husband of Barbara LaForge, who was murdered in her downtown Lakeport frame shop in October 2002.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen confirmed to Lake County News last month that both Hamblin and Mafrice remain persons of interest in LaForge’s unsolved murder.

Mafrice and DeMarco are alleged to have coerced and tricked Hamblin into signing a deed to his residence at 10615 Fairway Drive in Kelseyville at a time when he did not have the mental capacity to consent to the transfer of his property.

Based on the investigation, they’re also alleged to have forged medical records and other documents to ensure the transfer went through.

The property was sold in June for $175,000 and they kept the proceeds, the District Attorney’s Office confirmed.

Mafrice also has a history of financial crimes for which she has served time in state prison.

Abelson said that, so far, both Mafrice and DeMarco are charged only with financial elder abuse; that charge offers the most time if convicted. She said some of other crimes for which the two originally were arrested “are just alternative charges for the same conduct but I will likely amend the complaint to add some as well as some auto theft potentially for the same victim.”

The women originally were held on $500,000 bail each. At her arraignment last month, DeMarco was released on her own recognizance, Abelson said.

In a separate appearance on Oct. 30, Mafrice also was released on her own recognizance over Abelson’s objections but at the recommendation of the Probation Department.

Attorney Angela Carter made a general appearance on behalf of her law firm Carter Brown for DeMarco on Wednesday. Komnith Moth, who works for Lake County’s indigent defense contract is representing Mafrice, who is seeing to obtain new counsel.

Carter told Lake County News that, so far, no financial records have been submitted as part of the case. “That is fairly normal in cases of this variety. The reports and information sometimes trickle in little by little. Accordingly, we set a court date in mid-January. That is longer than usual, but both the prosecution and the defense require records to proceed. I’m sure they will be forthcoming.”

In addition to entering a not guilty plea – which Carter said is normal in every case and gives her time to review the discovery and advise her client – DeMarco waived her right to a speedy preliminary hearing, since she’s not in custody.

Carter said she negotiated DeMarco’s release on her own recognizance directly with District Attorney Don Anderson, and said she believed Mafrice also benefited from that agreement. “It would not make sense legally to hold a co-defendant on high bail when the other was released without the need to post any bail,” she explained.

She added, “Keep in mind that there is new legislation scheduled to eliminate bail completely and these types of cases will not be required to have any bail posted, and release will be virtually automatic in the future if that legislation is not overturned.”

Beyond the January court appearance, Carter said she anticipates a preliminary hearing date in early spring, “depending on how much time the new attorney requires to prepare and how quickly the records are supplied to the attorneys.”

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Women charged with financial elder abuse enter not guilty pleas