The Westland woman accused of defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Michigan Department of Treasury of hundreds of thousands of dollars has been sentenced to spend up to 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors alleged that Melissa Flores, 55, and co-defendant Steven Decker, 34, of Wyandotte, created aliases and obtained or created fraudulent documents to claim veterans' survivor benefits and property from the Michigan Department of Treasury. Prosecutors alleged in court that the scheme continued between 2013 and 2019 and that Flores and Decker received more than $40,000 of unclaimed property from the Michigan Department of Treasury and more than $430,000 from the Veteran's Administration.
Flores entered guilty pleas to multiple charges which originally included one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a felony punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment, $100,000 fine and forfeiture of proceeds and items used during the crime; two counts of false pretenses between $20,000 and $50,000, a felony punishable by 15 years imprisonment, $15,000 fine or three times the value of the money or property involved, whichever is greater; forgery of documents affecting real property, a 14-year felony; four counts of false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000, a felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine or three times the value of the money or property involved, whichever is greater. She was sentenced to 2-15 years on two false pretenses counts and one count of forgery and 1-5 years on the four additional charges. Her sentences will run concurrently.
