Man pleads guilty to embezzling from 91-year-old Ypsilanti resident

A Ypsilanti resident has pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling more than $100,000 from an elderly man, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday. 

Calium Turnage made his plea Monday in Washtenaw County Circuit Court to the 20-year felony. As part of a plea deal, the 59-year-old is slated to pay $140,000 in restitution and additional charges were dropped, Nessel's office said in a statement.

The case was handled by the attorney general’s Elder Abuse Unit.

Investigators found that between July 2016 and December 2017, monthly checks of between $3,000 and $4,000 were written to Turnage from the checking account of a 91-year-old Ypsilanti man whom he had driven around and performed odd jobs for, according to the release.

About $30,000 in checks were paid to Turnage, and he allegedly made 288 ATM withdrawals totaling $142,000 from the victim’s accounts, state officials reported.

“The evidence clearly demonstrates that the defendant personally benefited from the victim’s vulnerable position, and in doing so violated Michigan law,” Nessel said. “Our elder populations are particularly susceptible to financial exploitations and we in law enforcement must remain vigilant and prepared to hold bad actors accountable for such transgressions.”  

The victim was later found to be incompetent, and two weeks before he died, Turnage became entitled to most of his $600,000 estate after submitting a request to remove the man's longtime girlfriend and become the primary beneficiary of the estate, Nessel's office said. The matter was disputed and settled in civil court.  

Charges were initially filed against Turnage in December. After a plea deal, authorities dropped one count of embezzlement by an agent or trustee between $20,000 and $50,0000, a 10-year felony; and two counts of failure to file taxes, a five-year felony. 

Sentencing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. April 12.