Michigan Insurance Agent Sentenced for Embezzling $800K from Clients

A suburban Detroit insurance agent has been sentenced to at least six years in prison for embezzling more than $800,000 from a dozen elderly clients.

Paul Garceau Jr. of Grosse Pointe Park had pleaded guilty to embezzlement by an agent of greater than $100,000 and two counts of embezzlement by an agent of between $50,000 and $100,000. He was sentenced on Dec. 12.

WJKB-TV reports the state attorney general’s office says Garceau embezzled nearly $801,000 between 2008 and 2015 from 12 elderly clients in Wayne, Macomb, Oakland and Livingston Counties.

Prosecutors say Garceau convinced them to withdraw funds from legitimate investments, saying he would reinvest the funds in opportunities with higher returns, but instead spent the money on himself or his embezzlement scheme.

Garceau has agreed to pay about $613,000 in restitution.