justnorth posted on April 23, 2007 04:27 :: 1655 Views
A Ludington area license agent has entered a plea agreement with the Mason County Prosecutor's Office on a count of larceny by conversion between $200 and $1,000 for his part in a license sales scam.
Vaughn Flewelling, owner of the Hamlin Grocery, was arraigned in 79th District Court in Mason County last week and entered a plea on Monday. Judge Peter Wadel sentenced Flewelling to pay $23,000 in restitution to the State of Michigan. Flewelling paid $18,793.03 on Monday, and has 180 days to pay the remaining $4,206.97. He was also ordered to pay $440 in fines and costs, ordered to serve 40 hours of community service, and given 90 days in jail but suspended lieu of satisfying the ordered judgment.
Working on a tip received by a conservation officer from a woman who bought a restricted fishing license from Flewelling, the Special Investigative Unit of the Department of Natural Resources launched an investigation in the fall of 2006, with undercover officers visiting the Hamlin Grocery to gather evidence. The woman had purchased her license from the store in early 2006, and later that year visited a local Wal Mart store to purchase her "all-species" upgrade because she was going salmon fishing. Upon attempting to purchase the upgrade, the Wal Mart store told her they were not able to sell her one because there was no record that she had purchased the required restricted license. She ended up purchasing another restricted license, and later told the conservation officer she encountered in the field about the incident.
The large-scale investigation by the Special Investigative Unit showed that Hamlin Grocery had voided nearly 40 percent of their license sales, while the average retail license agent only voids 1 to 2 percent. The investigation showed that over a two-year period, Hamlin Grocery had stolen almost $25,000 from the State of Michigan through voided out license sales. The license sales terminal at the grocery store has been removed.
"This scam defrauded the State of Michigan out of nearly $25,000 that would normally have gone into our Game and Fish Protection Fund to help pay for the day-to-day fish and wildlife activities of the DNR," said DNR Law Enforcement Chief Alan Marble. "We are grateful to the hunters and anglers out there who offer us information and tips to help our investigations."
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