HASTINGS, Mich. — The U.S. Attorney's Office says a man from Hastings has been charged by a grand jury with two counts for allegedly stealing over $100,000 in Social Security retirement benefit funds for seven years.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey announced the charges against 47-year-old Michael Lee Brooks, with two counts of theft of federal taxpayer funds.
The first count of the indictment alleges that Brooks failed to notify the Social Security Administration that his father died in September 2019. The indictment claims that Brooks submitted false accounting statements to the SSA, totaling to $99,055 in stolen federal tax funds from 2019 through August 2025.
In the second count, Brooks is accused of stealing $4,218 from the Department of Agriculture's SNAP Program by making false statements and omitting facts.
Brooks could face a max penalty of 10 years in prison for each count if convicted.
The case is being investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
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