​Grosse Pointe Park Attorney Charged In Embezzlement Case

GROSSE POINTE PARK, MI — A Grosse Pointe Park attorney has been accused of stealing a client's money that was meant to be transferred to the Michigan Humane Society, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Monday.

Anthony Semaan, 63, was arraigned by 16th District Court Magistrate Barbara Scherr late last week on one count of embezzlement by an agent ($50,000-$100,000), a 15-year felony.

Semaan is scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday for a probable cause conference.

“The victim’s trust very clearly identified how the funds were to be disbursed and by law, the defendant had a duty to adhere to the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct,” Nessel said. “It is concerning to know that someone who was in a position to carry out the wishes of the deceased may have taken advantage of that position. I am grateful to the Financial Crimes Division in my office for continuing to investigate these types of occurrences and ensuring that those most vulnerable are protected.”

According to Nessel's office, Semaan in 2011 drafted a trust for a client who died in 2013. As part of that will, 50 percent of the client's trust was allocated to the Michigan Humane Society, Nessel's office said.

Semaan in 2016 was tasked with distributing the funds based on the trust and placed more than $262,700 of the money in his lawyer's trust/escrow account, Nessel's office said. The money was distributed in two payments to two people named in the trust, but Semaan did not provide the Michigan Humane Society with a notice of their interest in the trust or with the 50 percent disbursement, Nessel said.