At the beginning of 2018, Lou Anna K. Simon was one of the most powerful figures in Michigan education. Now the former president of Michigan State University is facing felony charges of lying to a peace officer.
Simon – who resigned as MSU president back in late January – is accused of lying to police about what she knew of Larry Nassar's abuse of a patient in 2014 at the MSU Sports Medicine Clinic.
According to federal investigators, the West Michigan man’s business card indicated that he was from a company providing painting services. Though the back of the card was adorned with an image of Jesus, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations says there was nothing saintly about his alleged attempts to sell fraudulent Social Security and Permanent Resident cards.
He has been charged with a federal felony: transfer of false identification documents. If convicted he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in a federal prison.
There is little doubt that when the federal indictments were announced, many observers believed the doctor was guilty and would pay a heavy price for serious crimes. There is also little doubt that many of those same observers missed the news that the physician has been exonerated and all of the 32 counts of alleged health care fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud have been dropped by prosecutors.
Criminal defense attorneys for Dr. Roland Chalifoux are clearly pleased that they have been able to make it clear to federal prosecutors that the indictments announced a little over a year ago were meritless and would not hold up in court.
They say that the three things most important in real estate are location, location, location. It appears that location also has much to do with how likely a person is to be arrested on marijuana-related charges in Michigan.
According to data compiled by the Michigan State Police, a person is three times more likely to be arrested in Ann Arbor on weed-related charges than in West Bloomfield Township (the city with the lowest arrest rate in the state) – a mere 35 miles away.
There are many Ann Arbor residents who make the pilgrimage west in order to enjoy the famous skyline, blues music or to sample the local cuisine that includes deep dish pizza, Italian beef sandwiches and legendary hot dogs. We’re referring to Chicago, of course.
A psychologist there is facing the possibility that she will be denied the pleasures of her hometown if she is convicted of health care fraud. She is accused of submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare and health insurance companies in a scheme that prosecutors allege lasted for years.
It’s about a two-hour drive due west of Ann Arbor to get to Kalamazoo. The city is home to five people recently arrested on federal white collar crime charges involving allegations of identity theft and credit card fraud in several West Michigan towns.
A spokesperson for the United States Postal Inspection Service alleged that the suspects opened credit cards in the names of victims, had the cards shipped to their homes and then stole the cards from their mail. The cards were then reportedly used at Meijer stores in Kalamazoo, Portage, Battle Creek, Benton Harbor and other towns.
Regular readers of our Ann Arbor legal blog know that our previous post dove into the legal complexities of parental alienation in divorce. In the Michigan Family Law Journal, attorney Ashish Joshi wrote that parental alienation cases involve “an unjustified campaign of denigration against a parent, often referred to as the 'target parent.'"
Courts have increasingly appointing a GAL (guardian ad litem) or LGAL (lawyer-guardian ad litem) in these matters. GALs help the court understand the child’s best interests and LGALs are appointed to “determine and then advocate for the child's best interests."
Some of the most difficult cases in family law involve parental alienation. A recent article in the Michigan Family Law Journal by attorney Ashish Joshi notes that "parental alienation is an unjustified campaign of denigration against a parent, often referred to as the 'target parent.'"
Because target parents are often denied parenting time and visitation, they will ask the court to intervene. The court - often frustrated as well because its child custody orders are being ignored by the "favored parent" and the child in question - will assign a GAL (guardian ad litem) or LGAL (lawyer-guardian ad litem) to help sort matters out. The court's hope is that the guardian will investigate, make dispute resolution recommendations and help the process "to move towards a collaborative model where divorcing parties treat each other with dignity and respect," Joshi writes.
Michigan State Police say they recently uncovered a couple involved in unusual criminal activity about 200 miles north of Ann Arbor. MSP said the woman “presented herself as a special agent with the FBI” and her partner worked with her to commit extortion.
Law enforcement officials said the woman posed as an FBI agent to help the man reclaim a car from a woman he knows. The two suspects were arrested for extortion and other felonies.
As our regular readers know, we do not share political views in our Ann Arbor criminal defense blog. But so many news items have been politicized in these highly charged times that it’s impossible not to note the political significance of some news reports.
A federal court recently ruled that Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen must remain behind bars as he appeals a conviction in April of last year for Medicare fraud. Melgen was a co-defendant with Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey in a corruption case that ended in mistrial in late 2017.
Bold labels are required.
Christina T. Kline, Dr. Demosthenes Lorandos, of the Joshi law firm, and Dr. Michael Spence, are featured as the cover story in the NACDL magazine, The Champion, Jan/Feb 2015 with the article - 'If DNA, Then Guilty': Strategies for Overcoming Juror Assumptions About DNA Evidence in Criminal Trials. Read More
Ashish Joshi was featured in Ingham County Legal news discussing the recent 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturning the convictions of two Wall Street traders, Anthony Chiasson and Todd Newman. Read More
Joshi | 2400 S. Huron Parkway | Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | Fax: 888-995-7868 | Map & Directions
