LANSING, Mich — A former Paw Paw insurance agent has been sentenced to 36 months on probation – with six months under house arrest – for embezzling between $50,000 and $100,000 from an elderly client, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday.
Brian Lietzau, 60, appeared Monday before Judge Kathleen M. Brickley in Van Buren County Circuit Court. His sentencing follows a plea deal he entered in February in which he pleaded no contest to one count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult, $50,000 or more but less than $100,000.
Lietzau is the former owner of Farm Bureau-Lietzau Insurance. Between November 2012 and November 2013, he served as fiduciary and power of attorney for the elderly victim. During that time, he converted her funds to his own personal use. These transfers occurred both while the victim was in the hospital and after she had passed away.
Along with his sentence, Lietzau is responsible for paying restitution of about $70,000 to the estate of the victim. Lietzau has also surrendered his license to practice insurance.
“We have a duty to protect those who are most vulnerable in our state and to hold the bad actors who seek to take advantage of them accountable,” said Nessel. “I am grateful to the hardworking professionals at the Department of Insurance and Financial Services for their continued collaboration on these cases.”
Suspected insurance and financial services fraud can be reported to Department of Insurance and Financial Services by calling 877-999-6442 or online by visiting the department’s website.
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