Madoff fraud hits Wexford County
Madoff fraud hits Wexford County

By Matt Whetstone

CADILLAC - When the pace slowed from a walk to a crawl, it started to become clear that something was amiss.

Then the national news came that Bernard Madoff was possibly perpetrating the largest investor scam in the history of the world.

And of all the victims ¨ affected by Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme, Wexford County is one, ¨ although not directly.

The county’s Community Corrections Department had been looking to the New York-based JEHT Foundation to provide cash toward its purchase of a transition house. JEHT is a proponent of programs that utilize a stable housing environment to transition inmates from jail to society.

Their mission fits Wexford County’s mission. Wexford County was simply waiting for grant money from JEHT to close on a 709 S. Mitchell St. home and begin housing inmates.

JEHT was one of many foundations that had critical cash invested with Madoff’s firm, said Gordon Baas, probation and parole supervisor for the Michigan Department of Corrections.

"It’s ironic to us that we are victims of crime while we’re trying to place offenders into a stable environment and back into society," Baas said.

"Thanks to Madoff, he’s made off with all the money we were hoping to get," said Community Corrections Supervisor Mistine Stark.

Still, the news does not signal an end to the transition house.

Community Corrections plans to move forward with the purchase by leaning on its reserve account. No county general-fund dollars will be used for the purchase or upkeep of the home.

Stark said the necessary repairs have been completed, and her department has followed all the requirements set forth by the county - except the JEHT grant.

Baas said the news that JEHT money is bad also provided an opportunity for Community Corrections to ensure that its business plan is strong yet conservative at the same time.

The Michigan Prison Re-Entry program is willing to sponsor three bids to house returning prisoners in the transition house, Baas said. The county also will place inmates from its jail in the house, Stark said.

In total, Community Corrections estimates that the county will save $50,000 to $100,000 annually because select inmates who had historically been housed at jails in other counties for $35 a night can be moved to the transition house.

The purchase is expected to move forward soon since the Wexford County Executive Committee gave Stark and Baas the green light Tuesday.
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