3 Wayne County employees charged for using county equipment to revamp private business
Three Wayne County employees were suspended from their positions with the bridge department Tuesday for a fraud scheme that now has them facing larceny charges.
County officials were tipped off that the three men were engaging in illegal activities by an anonymous letter in spring 2022 that alleged the group was using county materials to refurbish a private business while on the clock, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. This tip then led to an investigation by the prosecutor's office with assistance from the FBI.
The investigation found that Scott VanPeeren, 54, of Wyandotte, John Everhart, 50, of Farmington, and Justin Whorton, 40, of Detroit, worked at a private business, Romulus Nutrition, on Dec. 5, 2021, and falsified their timesheets. Each of the men is facing one count of larceny and one count of conspiracy to commit larceny, both felonies with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
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"We have been charging and holding defendants accountable for their unscrupulous criminal behavior for almost two decades," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. "It amazes me that despite this, corruption continues because corrupters think they will never be held to account. In this case, these three defendants allegedly knowingly accepted money from the county in the form of wages that they did not deserve. There is nothing right about this."
VanPeeren and Everhart were set to be arraigned at the 34th District Court in Romulus Tuesday. Whorton's arraignment has yet to be scheduled.
mmarini@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 3 Wayne County employees charged in fraud scheme
