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Published on January 14, 2025
Michigan Couple Sentenced to Prison for Orchestrating $5.4M Fraud SchemeSource: howtostartablogonline.net, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In a decisive action against financial crime, a Michigan couple has been put behind bars for a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme. Gregory Hite, age 39, will serve a 12-year-and-6-month sentence, while his wife, Bridget Bureau, also 39, has been sentenced to four years and three months, as reported by CBS News Detroit. The couple, who owned a string of businesses across West Michigan, admitted to wire fraud and using others' identities unlawfully to secure hefty loans to finance their enterprises.

The fraudulent activities stretched from 2016 to 2020, with the Hites and Bureau deceptively securing at least 55 loans, accumulating to a staggering $5.4 million. They have been ordered to pay restitution totaling $1.95 million. According to details from WOOD TV, the couple was discovered when they could no longer maintain the financial charade, and lenders began to aggressively seek repayments from the individuals whose identities had been compromised in the scheme.

Several businesses, including Hites RV and Great Lakes Recreation, are involved in this scheme. The duo utilized various LLCs to mask their actions. They falsified information on loan documents, impersonated victims on calls, and stole social security numbers and driver's licenses from family members and employees, destroying trust and credit.

"Protecting victims from financial crimes is part of keeping our communities safe," U.S. Attorney Mark Totten stated in a release detailed by CBS News Detroit. His feelings highlight a bigger truth: crimes like these, while not as dramatic as physical robbery, still cause serious harm to people's finances and mental health. Hite and Bureau will now face the consequences, spending time in federal prison and paying restitution.