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Former Home for Veterans employees win against Schuette, again

Kent County Circuit Court judge Mark Trusock agreed with 61st District Court judge Christina Elmore the employees should not face criminal punishment because a law was not broken.

An appeal by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette to reinstate criminal charges against nearly a dozen former employees of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans was dismissed by a Kent County judge on Friday, March 23.

Kent County Circuit Court judge Mark Trusock agreed with 61st District Court judge Christina Elmore the employees should not face criminal punishment because a law was not broken.

13 On Your Side broke the news last summer that 11 former workers at the Home for Veterans were charged with falsifying medical records, tied to an investigation that found the workers were signing off on member location sheets they were checking on veterans, when in reality they didn't do the work.

Attorney General Bill Schuette brought the charges against the workers and told us he thought the workers should be held accountable criminally for it.

"When you're a veteran, in particular a veteran who served our country, and you're treated in a shabby way, that's wrong," Schuette told us last year. "I am proud of what we did and if i had to do it again; I would do it a second time."

Despite the lack of action by the workers to help the veterans, two judges decided the records that were falsified by the employees weren't technically medical records.

Last summer, multiple sources close to the situation, not connected with the employees, reached out to our investigative team to express concerns about the filing of the charges against low-level workers inside the facility.

There was deep criticism that Schuette pressed on with a prosecution of these workers knowing video proving the workers didn't check on the veterans was not available. And there were questions whether the documents that were falsified were really medical records.

"In my opinion there has to be a political component of the prosecution," defense attorney Frank Stanley said at the time. "To charge these people with felonies under these circumstances is almost egregious. They should have never been charged at all."

We also found the video evidence in the case was not saved by state auditors because it wasn't technically possible for auditors to obtain the video at the time. The video would have been able to prove the workers didn't do the work.

It's up now to Schuette whether he'll make another appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals. Leaders in Schuette's office said Friday they are reviewing their options with the case.

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