State prosecutors: Ex-Wayne County Circuit Court judicial assistant embezzled from judge
Even some of the highest-ranking members of the legal community aren't immune from becoming victims of crime.
A former Wayne County Circuit Court judicial assistant is accused of embezzling more than $60,000 from his former employer — a sitting judge, according to the Michigan Attorney General's Office.
Steven Allen, 42, of Detroit, was arraigned Monday on four felony charges — embezzlement, using a computer to commit a crime, forgery of bank bills/promissory notes and stealing or retaining without consent a financial transaction device, according to a news release Tuesday.
Allen was employed as a judicial assistant in the 3rd Circuit Court in Wayne County from 2018 to 2022, according to state prosecutors. They did not identify the judge by name in the release. Allen worked for Judge Deborah Thomas, Danny Wimmer, spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office, wrote in an email to the Free Press on Wednesday.
How the judge was ripped off
During those years, state prosecutors said Allen illegally obtained an ATM card associated with the judge's accounts. He is accused of wrongfully making withdrawals and purchases and forging checks presented to the victim to conceal his thefts, according to the Attorney General's Office.
The victim became aware of the missing money when notified of delinquent taxes on a secondary property despite Allen presenting the judge with checks made to look like they were sent to satisfy the tax, according to the release.
The release did not state what the money was spent on. In his email, Wimmer wrote that "information on such purchases it would constitute evidence not yet presented at trial, and we could not share it as such."
Wimmer wrote the alleged embezzlement was uncovered in 2022, and the department began investigating in July of that year.
"Everyone should exercise extreme caution in who you permit to access your financial accounts," Attorney General Dana Nessel said in the release. "Even judges are not immune to theft, embezzlement and fraud perpetrated against them by those they trust the most. Truly anyone can fall victim to financial exploitation crimes."
Allen stood mute and a not-guilty plea was entered by the court, which set a $50,000 personal bond, according to online records for 36th District Court in Detroit. A probable cause conference is scheduled for Monday. A preliminary exam is set Feb. 5.
An order for a court-appointed attorney was granted, according to the court records. A message was left with the Neighborhood Defender Service in Detroit, which is listed as defense attorney on court records.
This story has been updated to reflect corrected information from the Wayne County Clerk's Office and the Michigan Attorney General's Office.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan AG: Ex-Wayne County Circuit Court judicial assistant embezzled from judge
