Hawks Ridge Defendant Facing Federal Charge
One of the defendants in the Hawks Ridge condo fraud case will be sentenced on Friday.
But that’s not the only legal problem he has to worry about.
43-year-old Michael Gokey of Marquette also has to face a federal charge coming out of a different incident.
A federal grand jury indicted Gokey last Thursday for causing a bogus distress message to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The indictment accuses Gokey of doing that the day before Memorial Day in 2008.
Marquette City Police investigated it at the time, but they didn’t arrest Gokey as a result of that investigation.
If he’s convicted of this, he could face 5 to 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, a fine and reimbursement of the Coast Guard’s expenses for the rescue call.
Gokey hasn’t appeared in court on the federal charge yet, and no date for him to appear has been set either.