Felony embezzlement charges have been filed against Maria Louisa Mason, 80, of Williamston, for allegedly stealing money from a state fund designated for a memorial statue.
“I have said it before and will continue to, public officials are held to a higher standard,” said Attorney General Bill Schuette. “Ms. Mason was allegedly using funds dedicated to a memorial statue to instead fund her personal expenses and now she is facing the consequences.”
Mason was arraigned Tuesday, April 18, 2017 in 54A District Court. Her bond was set at $10,000 personal recognizance bond. Her next court appearance is a pre-exam conference scheduled for April 27th at 9:30am.
Mason is the former Executive Director of the Michigan Hispanic/Latino Commission within the Department of Civil Rights
A complaint was filed against Mason with the Michigan State Police by the Department of Civil Rights after she was suspected of stealing money that had been given to the state to build a Cesar Chavez Memorial statue in Lansing.
The monument has not been built.
MSP began an investigation, and believe Mason embezzled over $73,500 from February 2013 until June 2015. She retired in December of 2015.
When Mason had control of the money she allegedly transferred funds to her personal accounts, and took numerous cash withdrawals.
She then allegedly used that money to pay for her credit cards, including AMEX, Capital One, Chase, Discover, Macy’s, and Bloomingdales.
She also allegedly paid her University Club Fees, her State of Michigan and City of Lansing taxes, her auto insurance, DTE, and cell phone bills, and bought shoes as well as other items.
