MEDIA CONTACT:

Andrea Bitely
Megan Hawthorne
517-373-8060
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2016

AG Schuette Charges Former Survivor Contestant

with Possession of Child Pornography and
Racketeering
Child sexually abusive material was discovered during investigation
into alleged Ponzi scheme
LANSING Michigan Attorney General today charged Michael Skupin, 54, of Oakland
County, with six counts of possession of Child Sexually Abusive Materials, five counts of
Larceny by Conversion, and one count of Racketeering- Conducting a Criminal Enterprise for
his role in allegedly running and promoting a Ponzi scheme.
Not only did this man rob people of their hard earned savings with his financial scams but he
victimized innocent children every time he looked at a piece of child pornography, said
Schuette. This man seems to have no concept or caring for right and wrong and will be
prosecuted under the full extent of the law for these horrific crimes.
Skupin was arraigned Friday, February 5, 2016 in 52-2 District Court in Clarkston before
Magistrate Daniel Schuman on the following twelve felony charges:

Six counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abusive Materials, a 4 year felony.

Five counts of Larceny by Conversion, a 5 year felony; and,
1 count of Racketeering- Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a 20 year felony.
Bond was set at $350,000. If bond is met, Skupin must wear a GPS tether, cannot have any
unsupervised visits with children or leave the state. Skupin will next appear in court for a preexam conference on Friday,February 19, 2016 at 9 am.

Case Background
An investigation began into Skupin after victims from his alleged Ponzi scheme contacted a
local news reporter. It is alleged that Michael Skupin recruited investors and friends to take part
in his gifting scheme called Pay It Forward. Victims allegedly made $10,000 cash investments
in the scheme. Their money would then cycle through a chart in which participants were
eventually paid out of other new investors money. The scheme was discovered when
eventually there were no new investors signing and most people in the scheme lost all of their
money.
Skupins laptop was searched in conjunction with the Ponzi scheme investigation. During the
search, investigators discovered images of underage children in sexual situations. The images
are alleged to belong to Skupin.
A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until and
unless proven guilty.
#