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Ex-Township Leader To Pay Restitution For Real Estate Fraud

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A former township supervisor in western Michigan will serve five years' probation and pay restitution for misusing money in a real estate deal.

MLive.com reports ex-Plainfield Township official Jay Spencer was sentenced Tuesday in Grand Rapids on a charge of illegally engaging in private banking.

He was ordered to pay $36,000 in restitution.

Court records show Jolan Jackson of Grandville invested $241,000 in 2011 with Spencer's Mackinac Realty Group to buy, renovate and sell homes.

Authorities say Spencer used as much as $40,000 on non-business-related items including personal expenses.

He apologized to Jackson in court and promised to pay the restitution quickly.

A 2016 larceny charge was dismissed. Prosecutors later charged him with embezzlement and false pretenses.

Spencer didn't seek re-election as supervisor in 2016 and left office that year.

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