Area Businesspeople Charged with Real Estate Fraud

5 Area Businesspeople are being charged with embezzlement involving a condo development in Marquette.

2 of the 5 have already been arrested.

City Police say those 2 are 43-year-old Michael Gokey and 36-year-old Ryan Bruns, both from Marquette.

Gokey was once the deputy U.P. representative for former Michigan Governor John Engler.

All 5 suspects are accused of committing false pretenses of $20,000 or more, fraudulent use of building contract funds and conspiracy to do both of those things.

The charges come from a 9-month investigation into Tristar Development, LLC.

That’s the company putting together the Hawks Ridge condominiums directly behind Econo Foods in Marquette.

The other 3 suspects have warrants out for their arrests.

UGN News has learned their names.

But because the 3 haven’t actually been arrested yet, Marquette City Police requested that we not release the names, and we’ve chosen to honor their request.