Ex-Hazel Park detective pleads guilty to embezzling $68K in forfeiture funds

Hazel Park — A former detective for the city's police department has pleaded guilty to embezzling asset forfeiture funds, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.

Sean Boucher, 46, of Warren pleaded guilty Tuesday in Oakland County Circuit Court to a count of embezzlement by a public official of $50 or more, Nessel's office said. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 22.

Under a plea deal, Boucher paid $68,220 in restitution and relinquished his state law enforcement standards certification.

"Sean Boucher was trusted with forfeiture funds meant to benefit the City of Hazel Park and its citizens," Timothy Waters, FBI special agent in charge in Michigan, said in a statement. "Instead, he violated his oath and stole the money for his personal use. Today's guilty plea is an admission he violated his duty and the trust of the Hazel Park Police Department."

In February, the attorney general's office said it charged Boucher with several crimes in connection with the embezzlement. It accused him of taking $68,000 from the city's public asset forfeiture fund for his own use between 2013 and 2017 after an investigation conducted by the FBI.

He was charged with conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony; embezzlement of between $50,000 and $100,0000, a 15-year felony; and five counts of embezzlement by a public official of more than $50, a 10-year felony.

Boucher was also placed on administrative leave by the Hazel Park Police Department on Sept. 11, 2017. It suspended him the next day and he resigned from the police force on Sept. 15, 2017.

“The residents of Hazel Park and members of this department put their trust in the defendant to uphold the law, and that trust was broken," Hazel Park Police Chief Brian Buchholz said in a statement. "His actions should in no way be a reflection of the members of this department who serve this city with honor and integrity every day." 

cramirez@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CharlesERamirez