ANN ARBOR, MI – Ypsilanti man accused of robbing 91-year-old man over $ 140,000 and attempting to seize his $ 600,000 estate after his death has pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges of funds.

Calium Turnage pleaded guilty Monday, March 1, to one count of embezzlement of a vulnerable adult over $ 100,000, a 20-year felony, under a plea deal with the Michigan attorney general’s office , Dana Nessel.

Turnage, 59, was originally indicted in December 2020 by the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Unit on one count of embezzlement by an agent or trustee between $ 20,000 and $ 50,000, a felony of 10 years and two counts of non-payment of taxes, a felony of five years.

Between July 2016 and December 2017, monthly checks between $ 3,000 and $ 4,000 were written to Turnage from the checking account of 91-year-old man Ypsilanti who was an associate of Turnage, according to the Attorney General’s office of the Michigan.

Turnage had driven the old man to various destinations and done odd jobs for him, and around $ 30,000 in checks was paid to Turnage during that time, officials said.

During the same period, 288 ATM withdrawals totaling $ 142,000 were made from the victim’s accounts by Turnage, officials said.

The victim was ultimately found to be incompetent, and two weeks before her death, Turnage was entitled to the majority of the man’s $ 600,000 estate after submitting a request, allegedly on behalf of the victim, to remove the small longtime friend of the victim and name herself as the primary beneficiary of the estate, officials said.

This case was contested and settled in a civil lawsuit.

“The evidence clearly shows that the accused personally benefited from the victim’s vulnerable position and in so doing violated Michigan law,” Nessel said. “Our elderly populations are particularly vulnerable to financial exploitation and we law enforcement agencies must remain vigilant and ready to hold bad actors accountable for such transgressions.”

Turnage is due to be sentenced on April 12 before Washtenaw County Trial Judge Patrick Conlin.

As part of the plea deal, the additional charges were dismissed and he will have to pay $ 140,000 in restitution.

To learn more about the task force, the Attorney General’s initiative, and how to report suspected cases of elder abuse, Click here.

For more information on the Ypsilanti region, Click here.

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