THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
Man accused of embezzling
involved in the school. It’s a painful thing
$36,000.
for all of us.”
mer PTO treasurer at Walker Charter Academy has been sentenced to probation after police said he embezzled more than $36,000 from the nonprofit group. Douglas Gene Barrow, 44, was sentenced Thursday in Kent County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of embezzlement of less than $20,000. Ba rrow had been t he
treasurer of the Walker Charter Academy parent-teacher organization for seven to eight years, other board members said. He resigned in September after allegations of the fraud surfaced and was charged weeks later. Laura Tripp, a PTO board member, said the embezzlement came as a revelation to board members. Barrow ultimately confessed, she said.
“He wa s a wonderf ul volunteer for many years at our school. And he had established such a level of trust with people on the board,” she said. Barrow was sentenced to 18 months of probation and paid restitution of $36,400 in full Thursday. Steve Bagley, principal at Walker Charter Academy, said the financial loss is not expected to impact the PTO’s mission or ability to
The Ada Township Board of Review for 2017 will be held at the Ada Township Hall, 7330 Thornapple River Dr on the following dates: Tuesday, March 7, 9:00 am = Organizational Meeting Monday, March 13, 9 am to 4 pm = Appeal Hearing Wednesday, March 15, 1 pm to 9 pm = Appeal Hearing
Steve Bagley, principal at Walker Charter Academy
G R A N D R A P I D S — A for-
2017 BOARD OF REVIEW NOTICE Ada Township 7330 Thornapple River Dr. Ada MI 49301 2017 BOARD OF REVIEW MEETING SCHEDULE
“This is someone you trusted, someone
John Tunison jtunison@mlive.com
Tow nsh i
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Former charter academy PTO treasurer receives probation
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fund projects. He said the PTO’s annual budget is $25,000-$35,000 a yea r. Wa l ker Cha r ter Academy has 714 students enrolled from young 5s through the eighth grade. Bagley said the charges and court process was difficult for everyone. “ This is someone you trusted, someone involved with the school. It’s a painful thing for all of us,” he said.
The Board of Review will meet to hear questions, protests, and to equalize the 2017 assessments. To appeal, you must make an appointment by calling 616-6769191 ext 26. By board resolution, residents are able to protest by letter, provided protest letter is received prior to the close of March Board of Review which is March 15, 2017. The tentative ratios and the estimated multipliers for each class of real property and personal property for 2017 are as follows: Agricultural Commercial Residential Industrial Personal Property
41.10% 41.80% 47.00% 48.56% 50.00%
1.2165 1.1961 1.0638 1.0296 1.0000
Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Notice The Township will provide necessary reasonable services to individuals with disabilities at the Board of Review meetings upon 4 days notice. Contact: Debbie Rashid, 616-676-9191 ext 26. 8028002-01
SU N DAY, F E B RUA RY 1 2 , 2 0 17
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Board of Review Members: Fred Westdale, James Bernier, and Luke Zinger
FBI finds $12,000 in sock, $155,000 sailboat payment in fraud case John Agar jagar@mlive.com G R A N D R A P I D S — A Coopersville man put a $155,000 down payment on a 49-foot sailboat to launder proceeds of a $1.8 million fraud at Herman Miller Inc., according to a federal indictment. Kevin John Grimm conspired with former Herman Miller manager Jerry Lee Akers to bill the company with fake invoices without providing any services or products, the government said. Akers awaits a May 1 sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court in Kalamazoo after he pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud against his former employer. Akers was a senior energy m a n a ger a nd faci l it ie s engineer at the Zeelandbased furniture maker. He was responsible for energy
programs, including coordination of natura l-gas requirements, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher O’Connor said. Gr i m m wa s i nd ic te d Wednesday. Grimm created a company, KJ Gas Transporation, LLC, to submit fraudulent invoices for payment by Herman Miller. The new company did not provide any natural gas or transportation services to Herman Miller. The scheme ran from June 2010 to July 2015 and generated $1,772,726 in payments to Grimm’s company, the government said. After Grimm started his company, Akers wrote a document called a “Supplier Maintenance Form,” and provided other information to help Grimm submit invoices for natural-gas services. Herman Miller termi-
nated the contract with Grimm’s company in July 2015. The FBI in Grand Rapids investigated. The government sa id Grimm gave Akers cash from the fraud proceeds. Grimm is charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. He also is charged with m o n e y l a u n d e r i n g fo r allegedly paying $155,000 to Denison Yacht Sales in Florida toward a 2005 49-foot Jeanneau 49DS sailboat, O’Connor wrote. Denison has a boat matching that description for $219,000. The government is seeking forfeiture of $12,751 that was seized from inside a sock at Grimm’s Coopersville home, $210,173 he deposited in three banks and his Kubota tractor and bucket as part of a nearly $1.8 million judgment.
8023954-01
Store video shows man assaulting woman before he was shot John Tunison jtunison@mlive.com HOL L A N D — A convenience store sur veilla nce v ideo shows a man assaulting a woman inside the store before he was shot by a customer with a concealed pistol. Holland police Friday released fur ther details about the shooting at Columbia One Stop that critically injured a 29-year-old man. The store owner, Jansen Le, said the woman was his employee and the injured man was her ex-boyfriend. Police said they are with-
holding the video for now, but it shows the woman visibly afraid in the moments before the shooting. She tried to escape him at one point, police said. Police said the attacker had been in the store about 10:20 p.m. Thursday and was intimidating the woman and other customers. Moments later, he began violently punching the woman and threw her to the ground. At that point, another customer walked into the store and tried to stop the assault. “The suspect immediately turned and violently
attacked the customer,” police said. The 43-year-old customer, who had a concealed pistol, later told police the attacker tried to grab his gun. At that point, he fired twice at the 29-year-old man. “The female victim did indicate that she feared the suspect would beat her to death if the customer did not intervene,” police said. Police said the video backs up the accounts of the woman and the pistol carrier. The woman was treated at Holland Hospital for injuries and released.
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