When Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette established his new Elder Financial Crimes Unit likely no one could have predicted that one of the first people caught up in his protective net would be a Paw Paw insurance agent now facing 7 felonies for his abuse of Power of Attorney given him by a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s Dementia.
Schuette’s office says today that 57 year old Brian Lietzau from Paw Paw has been charged with the following crimes:
- Conducting a continuing criminal enterprise — a felony for 20 years in prison and/or $100,00 fine
- Embezzlement from a Vulnerable Adult Over $100,000 — a felony for 20 years and/or $50,000 or three times the amount embezzled, whichever is greater
- 2 counts of Embezzlement by an Agent Over $1,000 — a felony for 5 year and/or $10,000 or 3 times the amount embezzled, whichever is greater
- 3 counts of using a computer to commit a crime — a felony for 7 years and/or $5.000 fine
Schuette says, “When a person is appointed to act as Power of Attorney, they make a promise to protect the assets of the person they are assisting, not steal their life’s savings.” He adds, “My office will continue to make crimes against the elderly and infirm a priority for prosecution. I would like to thank the Department of Insurance and Financial Services for their hard work and cooperation in this joint investigation.”
In total, Lietzau converted $270,000 from his victim’s estate. The matter was initially investigated by the Department of Insurance and Financial Services and referred to the Department of Attorney General for prosecution.
Lietzau is the former owner of Farm Bureau-Lietzau Insurance and allegedly stole $270,000 from one of his clients who suffered from Alzheimers Dementia starting in 2012 after obtaining the title of Durable Power of Attorney. He allegedly wrote checks to himself from the client’s account as well as allegedly converted her funds to be his own. Lietzau was not a beneficiary on any of his client’s accounts.
Several of the alleged transfers occurred while his client was in the hospital and after she had passed away.
