Prison for Gokey for Staging Death
A Marquette businessman is heading to federal prison for two years for making a bogus distress call to the Coast Guard.
44-year-old Michael Gokey pleaded guilty back in August.
The false distress call was part of an attempt Gokey made on Memorial Day weekend in 2008 to fake his own death.
He planted a kayak and a life jacket on the beach at Founders Landing before making the call.
Police have said Gokey contacted them from Iowa after thinking better of his plot.
Gokey will also have three years of supervised release after he gets out of prison.
And he’ll have to reimburse the Coast Guard more than $55,000 for the money they spent investigating his call.