DETROIT (WWJ) - A former worker at 36th District Court will spend a year in jail for embezzling $20,000.
The Michigan Attorney General's office say 47-year-old William Blake, of Redford, was sentenced this week after pleading guilty to two counts of felony embezzlement by a public official over $50
An investigation by the FBI's Public Corruption Task Force showed that between Sept. 2013 and Oct. 2015, Blake displayed his badge and gun to coerce defendants to pay up in civil cases. But instead of turning the money over to plaintiffs, Blake put the money in his own personal bank accounts.
By not filing the proper paperwork with the courts, investigators say Blake was able to pocket the money without the court knowing about his collections or failure to remit the payments. He was charged in the case in Feb. 2018.
"It’s a huge betrayal of public trust when someone who is tasked with maintaining law and order uses his position to threaten and coerce people to line his own pockets," Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. "This office will always take action against anyone who abuses their position for personal enrichment."
East Lake Baptist Church and A Nu Automotive were among those victimized.