Michigan Elder Financial Abuse Laws: Penalty Tiers and Reporting

Michigan’s elder financial abuse laws make it a crime to use fraud, deceit, coercion, or misrepresentation to take money or property from a vulnerable adult, with penalties under MCL 750.174a that scale from a 93-day misdemeanor to a 20-year felony depending on the amount involved.¹ Anyone who suspects a vulnerable adult is being exploited can report it any time of day to Adult Protective Services at 855-444-3911, and investigators begin work within 24 hours.²

What the Law Prohibits

MCL 750.174a makes it illegal to obtain or use a vulnerable adult’s money or property through fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, coercion, or unjust enrichment when the person knows or has reason to know the victim is a vulnerable adult.¹ The statute covers attempts as well as completed acts, so a person can face charges even if the scheme failed.

In practice, that language sweeps in a wide range of conduct: draining a bank account through deception, pressuring someone into signing over property, running up credit card charges without authorization, or using a trust relationship to redirect funds. The common thread is dishonesty or pressure rather than a genuine, voluntary gift.

Who Counts as a Vulnerable Adult

The statute protects “vulnerable adults” rather than setting a flat age cutoff. The definition can include people with diminished capacity due to age, physical limitations, mental conditions, or dependency on others for care. Michigan’s general embezzlement statute, MCL 750.174, separately lists people aged 60 or older as a protected category alongside vulnerable adults as defined in 750.174a.¹

Practically, if the person in question is elderly, has cognitive decline, depends physically on a caregiver, or has a disability affecting their ability to manage finances, the protections of 750.174a likely apply. Prosecutors do not have to prove the victim was completely incapacitated. They only need to show the person met the statutory definition and that the accused knew or should have known.

Penalty Tiers

MCL 750.174a sets six penalty levels keyed to the value of the money or property involved. Every tier also allows a fine of three times the value of the assets taken if that is greater than the listed fine ceiling.¹

Misdemeanor Levels

Less than $200: up to 93 days in jail, a fine of up to $500 (or three times the value), or both.
$200 to $999: up to 1 year in jail, a fine of up to $2,000 (or three times the value), or both.

Felony Levels

$1,000 to $19,999: up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000 (or three times the value), or both.
$20,000 to $49,999: up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $15,000 (or three times the value), or both.
$50,000 to $99,999: up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $15,000 (or three times the value), or both.
$100,000 or more: up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $50,000 (or three times the value), or both.

Prior Convictions Raise the Tier

Penalty tiers under MCL 750.174a can jump based on prior convictions even when the dollar amount alone would not justify the increase. Someone convicted of taking $300 from a vulnerable adult, normally a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail, faces a felony and up to 5 years in prison if they have a prior conviction under the same statute.¹ Each additional qualifying prior can push the defendant up another step on the ladder.

How Small Thefts Add Up to Felonies

Exploitation rarely happens in one big transaction. It usually looks like a steady pattern of small withdrawals, charges, or diversions over weeks or months, and Michigan law accounts for that. Under MCL 750.174a, prosecutors can combine the values of money or property taken in separate incidents that are part of the same scheme within any 12-month window to set the total value and the corresponding penalty tier.¹

If the scheme targets a single person, there is no time cap on aggregation at all. A caregiver who skims $500 a month from one elderly person’s account for three years can be charged on the full $18,000, which puts the case in felony territory, instead of being charged separately for each small withdrawal.

How to Report Suspected Abuse

Anyone can report suspected exploitation to Michigan’s centralized intake line for abuse and neglect at 855-444-3911. The line runs 24 hours a day, and staff begin investigating within 24 hours of a report.² You do not need proof before calling.

Adult Protective Services, part of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, handles the investigation. Under the Social Welfare Act (MCL 400.11b), MDHHS is responsible for investigating reports and providing protective services to adults at risk. Depending on what the investigation finds, APS can arrange financial management assistance, money management services, and referrals for guardianship or conservatorship.³

Certain professionals in Michigan are legally required to report suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Mandatory reporters include physicians, nurses, psychologists, counselors, aides, and hospital staff; teachers, school administrators, and counselors; and social workers, law enforcement officers, county medical examiners, adult day care providers, and bank and credit union staff.⁴ The inclusion of bank and credit union employees matters for financial cases. Tellers and branch managers who see unusual withdrawals, sudden account changes, or a customer who seems to be acting under someone else’s direction are required to report it.

Victims aged 60 or older can also contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311, run by the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, for help assessing a situation and connecting with the right agencies.⁵

Civil Options for Recovering Money

Criminal prosecution is not the only route. A victim, their guardian, or the representative of their estate can also bring civil claims to recover stolen assets, and in some cases to collect additional damages.

A conversion claim is available when someone wrongfully took or used the victim’s property. Michigan law allows treble damages in certain conversion cases under MCL 600.2919a, so the court can award up to three times the value of the converted property. When the exploitation ran through a fiduciary role, such as a court-appointed conservator or an agent under a power of attorney, a breach of fiduciary duty action can hold that person personally liable for losses to the estate.

When the person who exploited the victim did so through a business or trade, the Michigan Consumer Protection Act (MCL 445.901 and following) may also apply, allowing recovery of actual damages plus reasonable attorney fees. Unjust enrichment and constructive trust claims are available where someone received a financial benefit they should not have kept.

Civil cases can move forward alongside or completely independent of a criminal prosecution. A victim does not need a criminal conviction to sue, and the civil burden of proof (preponderance of the evidence) is lower than the criminal standard (beyond a reasonable doubt).

Warning Signs Families Can Spot

Most exploitation involves someone with regular access to the vulnerable adult’s finances: a family member handling bill payments, a live-in caregiver with access to bank cards, or a holder of power of attorney. Common warning signs include unexplained bank withdrawals, sudden changes to estate planning documents, unpaid bills despite adequate income, new “friends” who insert themselves into financial decisions, and isolation of the vulnerable adult from other family members. Financial institutions often spot these patterns first because they see the account activity directly, which is one reason Michigan made bank and credit union staff mandatory reporters.⁴

If you see those signs in a family member’s situation, call Adult Protective Services at 855-444-3911. APS will investigate and decide whether protective intervention is warranted.²

1
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.174a – Vulnerable Adult Prohibited Conduct Violation Penalty
2
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Adult Protective Services
3
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Adult Protective Services
4
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Mandated Reporters
5
United States Department of Justice. Avoiding Scams and Swindles