March 26, 2008

            LANSING - Attorney General Mike Cox today announced that Dion T. Mann of Detroit, was arrested and charged with 12 felony counts for allegedly stealing nearly $200,000 from the accounts of a deceased man who had earmarked $150,000 of that money to the American Cancer Society after his death.

            "Stealing a deceased person's savings is an appalling act," said Attorney General Mike Cox. "It's my office's mission to catch criminals like him to ensure people's hard-earned money goes to its intended destination."

            Charges filed against Mann, 27, include:

            On June 4, 2006, Mark Furstenberg was found dead of natural causes at this home in Detroit. Shortly thereafter, Furstenberg's home was apparently broken into. Maintenance employees saw signs of forced entry at the apartment on June 5, 2006, and again in August, 2006.

            Subsequently, Howard Collens, the attorney of Furstenberg's estate, reported that there had been several unauthorized transactions on Furstenberg's s accounts at Fidelity Investments and Chase Bank. The transactions occurred after Furstenberg's death, were not authorized by his executor or the personal representative of the estate, and totaled nearly $200,000.

            The Attorney General's investigation determined that this money ended up in Mann's hands either through checks written to himself from Furstenberg's account or by transfers from Furstenberg's accounts to Mann's own bank accounts.

            The criminal charges have been filed in the 36th District Court in Detroit, Michigan. If convicted as charged, Mann could face up to 14 years in prison.

            A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

            Identity theft of deceased persons is a growing problem nationwide. To help the public with this problem, Attorney General Cox has issued a Consumer Alert entitled, ID Theft: Deceased Victims, which can be found on his website at http://www.michigan.gov/consumeralerts.

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