Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A former office manager accused of embezzling more than $176,000 from a roofing company in Whitmore Lake is heading to prison.

42-year-old Kendra Lewis of Redford was sentenced in Washtenaw County Circuit Court this week and ordered to serve 38 months to 15 years in prison.

In July, Lewis pleaded no contest to embezzlement by an agent of $50,000-$100,000 and two counts of making/permitting a false tax return. The agreement also included a restitution order.

The Department of Attorney General prosecuted Lewis for embezzling approximately $176,653 in 2020 and 2021 while employed as the office manager of Big Ike’s Roofing Company in Whitmore Lake.

The owner of the company discovered that Lewis was embezzling when a new office manager was hired at his company. The Department says Lewis wrote checks payable to herself and recorded them in the business checkbook ledger as being payable to various business vendors for significantly smaller sums.

Lewis agreed to a restitution order of $176,653 to her former employer’s estate and the remainder to the Michigan Department of Treasury for unpaid taxes.

Approximately $48,000 was seized from Lewis’ home during the investigation, and Lewis has agreed to forfeit that sum toward outstanding restitution.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel commented that “The defendant in this case will be required to repay as restitution the money she stole from her employer, and to compensate the State for unpaid taxes. Embezzlement from our small businesses hurts both the business and the consumers in that community. My office and our Financial Crimes Division will continue to bring embezzlers to justice and secure restitution for the victims.”