Three to Stand Trial for Identity Theft, Forgery Totaling Half a Million Dollars

LANSING – Today, Averill Dintaman, 46, and Daniel Nolan, 51, both of Mount Pleasant, waived preliminary examination and were bound over to stand trial in the 56th Circuit Court in Eaton County on felony charges connected to an alleged identity theft and unclaimed property fraud scheme totaling more than half a million dollars, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Another co-defendant, Dwayne Johnson, 59, of Saint Louis, waived preliminary examination and was bound over to stand trial in June.

It is alleged that in 2022, Dintaman, Nolan, and Johnson conspired to steal the identity of a victim and forged a fraudulent durable power of attorney to obtain an unclaimed property check in the victim’s name for $579,551.99. Johnson then allegedly posed as the victim to appear in person at the Department of Treasury’s Unclaimed Property Office to obtain a second copy of the check.

This matter was referred to the Department of Attorney General by the Department of Treasury.

“I am pleased to see this case move forward to trial,” Nessel said. “My office will continue working with the Department of Treasury to ensure that those who commit identity theft and seek to profit at the expense of honest Michiganders are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Dintaman has been charged with:

One count of Conspiracy to Commit False Pretenses $100,000 or More, a 20-year felony;
One count of Uttering and Publishing, a 14-year felony;
One count of Forgery, a 14-year felony; and
One count of Using a Computer to Commit a Crime, a 20-year felony.

Nolan has been charged with:

One count of Conspiracy to Commit False Pretenses $100,000 or More, a 20-year felony;
One count of Forgery, a 14-year felony; and
One count of Using a Computer to Commit a Crime, a 20-year felony.

Johnson was charged with:

One count of Conspiracy to Commit False Pretenses $100,000 or More, a 20-year felony;
One count of State Identification Card - Counterfeiting/Forging/Using to Commit a Felony, a 10-year felony; and
One count of Identity Theft, a 5-year felony.

Dintaman and Nolan will next appear before Judge Janice Cunningham in the 56th Circuit Court on October 17. Johnson will next appear before the Court on September 11.

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