ESCANABA -- Thirty-two-year-old Jason Bradley Ives of Bark River was sentenced on Thursday in Delta County Circuit Court on embezzlement charges.
Ives is charged with one count of larceny by conversion, $1,000 or more but less than $20,000, with respect to Andrew and Heather Johnson. He is charged with a second count of the same charge with respect to Daniel Sandahl.
Each charge is a five-year felony. Ives pled no contest earlier this month. According to officials, he didn't refund down payments the two parties paid on a home Ives owned in Bark River Township.
"I was trying to sell my homes and it did not work out with either party," said Ives. "I would like to apologize to them by not refunding their money to them sooner."
For count one, Ives was sentenced to two years of probation and six months in jail with no credit. He was also ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution and a $4,000 fine. For count two, he received the same sentence, but must pay $10,000 in restitution with a fine of $10,000.
These sentences are concurrent.
The crowd erupted into cheers when Ives was led back to jail, where he's currently lodged. There will be a jury trial for Ives on August 7, 8, and 9 in Delta County Circuit Court.
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