People v. Gahan, 571 N.W.2d 503 (Mich. 1997)

Cases | People v. Gahan, 571 N.W.2d 503 (Mich. 1997) | 2018

The defendant entered a consignment sales agreement with customers to sell their cars. The defendant told customers that the cars sold for a lower price than the actual sale price, and retained the difference. The defendant was convicted of one count of embezzlement. The presentence investigation report stated that there were 48 counts against the defendant involving similar transactions. The court ordered the defendant to pay restitution to all of the victims as a condition of probation. The appellate court vacated the restitution order, concluding that restitution may only be imposed with respect to a loss caused by the offense for which the defendant was tried and convicted. The supreme court reversed the appellate court’s decision and reinstated the restitution order. The court held that the sentencing court did not exceed its statutory authority in ordering restitution intended to compensate victims who were defrauded by the defendant’s course of criminal conduct, even though the losses were not the specific factual predicate of the defendant’s conviction. The repeated scheme to defraud customers in the same or similar manner fell within the broad meaning of “course of conduct” contained in Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 771.3. Further, the Crime Victim’s Rights Act provided the defendants adequate process by affording them an evidentiary hearing to establish the proper amount of restitution and by containing additional safeguards that prevented deprivation of liberty when the defendants were unable to compensate their victims.