Two Charged in Fraud Scheme to Steal Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars from Vulnerable Wards

DETROIT - Two Detroit-area residents were indicted for their roles in a scheme to embezzle money from incapacitated persons, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. 

Joining in the announcement was Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Field Division.

Kijuana Evans, 54, of Clinton Township and Lonnie Griffin, 57, of Harper Woods, were charged in an indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.   

According to the indictment, probate courts regularly appoint guardians and conservators to manage the personal and financial affairs of adults, known as wards, who have been found by the court to lack the capacity to do so themselves. Guardians and conservators are fiduciaries who are obligated to act in the best interests of their wards. The indictment alleges that Kijuana Evans owned TriState Guardian Services, an agency that was appointed as a fiduciary by the Oakland County Probate Court for incapacitated wards. Lonnie Griffin operated Key to Life, a non-emergency transportation service, and was employed as a manager of TriState. 

The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to systematically embezzle funds from wards, and to obtain and retain money for themselves that rightly belonged to the wards and the wards’ estates. The indictment sets forth examples of the co-conspirators working together to misappropriate money belonging to wards. In one instance, Evans is alleged to have used $87,000 in a ward’s funds to purchase a transit van used by Griffin’s transportation company.  In another, Evans and Griffin are alleged to have taken for themselves $180,000 in funds from the sale of a ward’s home. In yet another case, Evans and Griffin are alleged to have taken the proceeds of a ward’s lawsuit settlement and deposited it into their bank account. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Moran.  The investigation is being conducted by the FBI.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  It is the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.