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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:*

March 10, 2023




*Media Contact:
*AG Press <[email protected]>






*Dewitt Priest Bound Over on Embezzlement and Fraud Charges*





*LANSING?*? Clinton County Circuit Court has bound over Father David Rosenberg on charges of embezzlement, larceny, and false pretenses from three elderly priests in his care, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.

Rosenberg, 70, of Dewitt, was employed as Director of the Lansing Catholic Diocese?s St. Francis Retreat Center (?Retreat Center?) in Dewitt between 2015 and 2021. He stands accused of embezzling or stealing approximately $772,824 from three priests and giving the stolen funds to his charitable foundation, FaithFirst, formerly the Rosenberg Family Corporation. The 95-acre Retreat Center property includes apartments that house retired priests. Two of the victims, Father Benjamin Werner and Father Joseph Aubin, resided at the Retreat Center until their deaths. Ninety-three-year-old Father Ken McDonald still resides there.

Rosenberg was bound over on the following charges:


* Three counts of Embezzlement from a Vulnerable Adult $100,000 or more, a 20-year felony;
* One count of Uttering and Publishing, a 14-year felony;
* One count of Larceny over $20,000, a 10-year-felony;
* One count of Perjury, a 15-year-felony;
* One count of False Pretenses over $100,000, a 20-year-felony, and;
* One count of False Pretenses $20,000 or more, a 10-year felony.

?Those entrusted with the care of vulnerable adults must be held accountable when they put their own interests above those of the individuals they are supposed to protect,? Nessel said.

In December 2022, Rosenberg was given a $25,000 personal recognizance bond with conditions that he is prohibited from acting as a fiduciary and must relinquish any current power of attorney appointments. ?

"*Please note:?*?A criminal charge is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The Department does not provide booking photos."

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