Michelle Renee Crouch, is charged with felony larceny of more than $20,000 and felony identity theft after police say she stole the money from 57-year-old Kevin Bolema's account at the PNC Bank branch in Muskegon Township days after his death.
Bolema died unexpectedly while on a fishing trip with his friends in the Upper Peninsula on June 19 last year, acccording to
Michigan Live.
At his funeral, his family says Crouch introduced herself as a friend and even hugged his 81-year-old mother. She told them how he had been such a nice man.
But his family was shocked to learn days later that his bank account was practically emptied after Crouch claimed he had authorized an emergency loan just before he left for his fishing trip.
The 51-year-old woman left $5 in his savings account after stealing $110,000 from it, authorities say.
Prosecutors allege that Crouch illegally used his personal identity information on file at the bank to steal the money.
However, her attorney, Matthew Kacel, said that it was 'all innocent' and authorized by Bolema before his sudden death.
'It's kind of an odd situation. She's saying she had a really good relationship (as a friend) with the victim in this case, helping him organize his house, helping him out,' Kacel told Michigan Live.
'She was having trouble with her mortgage. He said, 'I'll lend you money for a mortgage, just pay me back,'' Kacel said.
He explained that before Bolema left for his trip, they drafted up a loan agreement that she never signed, but authorized an automatic transfer of the money from his account to hers.
'She's always maintained that it was going to be a loan and she didn't steal the money, but unfortunately the timing of the thing is just crazy,' Kacel said.
[...]
She told Michigan Live that her brother was a highly intelligent man who had a dread of identity theft and described that he never did anything online and always carried out his banking matters by going into his bank branch.
'My brother was very personable,' Rhonda Bolema told Michigan Live. 'He talked to everybody. He was everybody's friend.'
She said that she doesn't believe Crouch's story that her brother would draft a document authorizing a 30-year, no-interest, no-collateral loan of more than $100,000.
'He was not a stupid man,' Rhonda Bolema told Michigan Live. 'There's no way my brother ever said that.'
Crouch was busted after the man's family received a call from the bank two days after his death alerting them that his credit card was used fraudulently.
His daughter went to the bank the next day to request that his savings account be frozen, but it was too late because it had already been drained.
Rhonda Bolema said that the money was eventually moved back into his estate by the bank after being reimbursed by insurance.
'You can say we've been made whole, but I can assure you we have not,' Rhonda Bolema told Michigan Live.
'The sleepless nights, the panic, the stress. My aunt and my mom, who are both in their 80s, the impacts on their health.
'Nobody should have to tell their mom her son died. Our family was going through this really crushing, shocking loss... and somebody (allegedly) took advantage.
'Technically it's a nonviolent crime, but it's devastating nonetheless.'
Crouch faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted.
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