St. Clair Shores Attorney charged with embezzling $389,000

MOUNT CLEMENS, MICHIGAN -- A onetime law school class president stands accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from a trust for two teenage boys.

The Macomb County Prosecutor's Office and Warren Police today charged St. Clair Shores attorney Robert Buschmohle with Embezzlement over $100,000, a 20-year felony. 

Buschmohle, 39, had been appointed sole trustee of a living trust made for the benefit of two young males living in Warren. 

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According to police and prosecutors, Buschmohle wrote checks to himself from the fund over the course of four years, eventually draining the trust account in its entirety.

When the boys neared the trust disbursement age of 19, their mother called Buschmohle to find out when and how the boys would receive their payments.  Buschmohle failed to return her calls.  In frustration, the mother made a complaint to the Attorney Grievance Commission, who brought the matter to the Warren Police.

In total, Buschmohle is alleged to have stolen $389,000 from the account.

Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith pointed to Buschmohle's fiduciary responsibilities to the trust beneficiaries.

 "This family placed their trust in this man, and he stole everything down to their last penny," Smith said.  "It's a sad example of the old adage:  sometimes it's easier to rob you with a fountain pen than it is with a gun."