Nearly all defendants in the MSU healing fund fraud case have been sentenced
All but one of the seven people charged with stealing money from a fund set up to aid the women and girls disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused have now been sentenced.
The sixth defendant, Mary Riley, was sentenced Friday to three years of probation after pleading guilty to a charge of false pretenses of $20,000 or more. She was ordered to pay $41,243 in restitution to MSU.
In all, the seven people charged are accused of fraudulently receiving more than $527,000 from the fund.
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All seven defendants were offered the same plea: three years of probation and no jail time as long as they paid restitution to the university fund. The defendants face up to a year in jail if they don't pay the restitution.
Everyone but one person — Maxann Reese — has taken the plea deal and been sentenced. Each said they were not Nassar victims and did not receive the services they submitted invoices for.
Corey Riley, Mary Riley's brother, was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading no contest to false pretenses of $20,000 or more. He was ordered to pay $20,820 in restitution to MSU.
Tammy Johnson was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to false pretenses of $20,000 or more. She owed $75,645.60 in restitution.
Donita Johnson, who played basketball at Michigan State from 1997 to 2001, was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to false pretenses of $20,000 or more. She owed $89,722 in restitution.
Marcetta Johnson, Donita Johnson's mother, was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to false pretenses of $20,000 or more. She was ordered to pay $69,360 in restitution to MSU.
Porter Johnson, Donita Johnson's father, was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to false pretenses of $20,000 or more. He owed $38,714.96 in restitution.
Reese, who played basketball at MSU from 1996 to 2000 and played in the WNBA, faces seven counts of false pretenses for $20,000 or more and one count of using a computer to commit a crime. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for early March.
The fraudulent claims led MSU to close the $10 million Healing Assistance Fund, which exists to cover out-of-pocket counseling and medical expenses incurred by Nassar survivors, their spouses, parents or guardians seeking medical and therapy treatments, in July 2018. The fund was originally set up in December 2017. It reopened in September 2019.
Contact reporter Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: 6th person sentenced in Michigan State healing fund fraud case
