An Alpena man has been sentenced for falsely accusing Michigan State Police of forging search warrant signatures and stealing from him while searching his home.
A jury found Thomas VanDuinen, 72, guilty of making false claims in 2022.
He was sentenced Monday through the 26th Circuit Court in Alpena County to serve up to four years' incarceration for three counts of reporting a felony, the Michigan Department of the Attorney General announced. He was also sentenced to serve up to seven years for using a computer to commit a crime.
VanDuinen will also serve a concurrent sentence of up to two years for providing a false statement to a police officer during a criminal investigation. He must serve at least three years and four months before he is eligible for parole, the Attorney General's office said.
MSP troopers executed search warrants on VanDuinen's Alpena home and pole barn in February 2021, investigators said. He filed reports with the MSP Professional Standards Section alleging that troopers stole money, hydrocodone pills and forged signatures two days after the search.
VanDuinen demanded that state police return his property and filed a lawsuit against the law enforcement agency, officials said. Authorities launched a criminal investigation against the troopers in June 2021 before closing the probe in January 2022.
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