Schuette Announces Guilty Plea in School Union Embezzlement Case

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced the former Highland Park Assistant Principal who embezzled more than $36,000 from a school union has pled guilty. Samuel Craig, 54, of Belleville, pled guilty to one count of Embezzlement Over $20,000, a ten-year felony. As part of the plea agreement, Mr. Craig produced a cashier's check in the amount of $15,000 for an initial restitution payment to the union.

Schuette said "I am proud of the great work our Public integrity Unit continues to do. We live in a new Michigan where citizens demand accountability from public officials."

Mr. Craig's plea comes after the Attorney General's Public Integrity Unit charged him with embezzling more than $36,000 from the Highland Park Association of School Administrators between April 2009 and March 2011. Craig served as the elected treasurer for the group while he was employed as an assistant principal in the highland Park School District. His regular duties included overseeing the union's financial accounts, including making deposits and paying obligations, as approved by the Association's leadership.

Craig acquired signed checks from union officials who understood the checks would be used to pay legitimate financial obligations for the organization. Instead, Craig wrote the checks out to himself and deposited the fund for his own personal use. Craig also authorized electronic funds transfers to his own personal accounts and procured a debit card used for personal expenses without the Association's knowledge or authorization.

Craig is scheduled to be sentenced on July 5th.