Wayne County woman bound over to circuit court in embezzlement trial

Following a preliminary examination on March 14, in People v Kendra Lewis, before Washtenaw County 14A-3 District Court Judge Cedric Simpson, Kendra Marie Lewis, 42, of Redford, was bound over to the Washtenaw County Circuit Court, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced. Lewis was bound over on the following charges:

• One count of Embezzlement of $100,000 or more, a 20-year felony.
• Two counts of Filing a Fraudulent Tax Return, a 5-year felony.

Simpson also modified Lewis’ bond from a $5,000 personal recognizance bond to a $75,000 cash/surety bond, and Lewis was taken into custody.  

The Department of Attorney General alleges that Lewis embezzled approximately $176,653 in 2020 and 2021 while employed as the office manager of Big Ike’s Roofing Co. located in Whitmore Lake. Lewis allegedly embezzled the money by writing checks payable to herself and recording them in the business checkbook ledger as being payable to various business vendors for significantly less amounts.

The Department charged Lewis as a habitual offender-third based on her prior criminal record.

“Theft, especially that which targets our state’s small businesses, causes harm to individual proprietors and drives up prices for all the community’s residents,” Nessel said. “I will not hesitate to prosecute those who break the law.”

Lewis’ next court hearing is a pre-trial conference on March 27 in front of Judge Arianne E. Slay of the Washtenaw County Circuit Court.