Michael Scripps: Fraud Scheme, Nine-Year Sentence, and Appeal

Michael Scripps, an heir to the Detroit branch of the Scripps media family, was convicted in April 2013 of embezzling $3.6 million from his own mother and his disabled uncle through a wire fraud scheme run with the help of a Merrill Lynch financial advisor. A federal jury in Philadelphia found him guilty on all seven counts, and he was sentenced to nine years in federal prison. The Michael Scripps fraud case later returned to the Third Circuit on an appeal over how he was sentenced, with the court sending the matter back for further review in 2020.

Who Michael Scripps Is

Scripps descends from the Detroit branch of the Scripps media dynasty. His great-great-grandfather, James E. Scripps, founded The Detroit News and co-founded the Evening News Association with his half-brother E.W. Scripps.¹ His mother, Melissa Scripps, is an heiress to that fortune and lived in suburban Detroit with her brother David Scripps, described in court records as autistic and disabled.²

Melissa testified at trial that she had inherited $11 million, though her son’s defense attorney placed the broader family fortune closer to $100 million.² She had already been sending Michael about $3,900 a month on top of other substantial sums.

How the Fraud Worked

From November 2001 through October 2006, Scripps systematically drained the trust accounts of his mother and uncle. He persuaded Melissa and David to move their trust funds to Merrill Lynch, where a financial advisor named Richard “Duke” Gleeson worked at the firm’s office in Media, Pennsylvania. Gleeson helped him move money out of the relatives’ accounts and into Michael’s own account at the same firm using fraudulent authorizations.³

The total take was $3.6 million. According to the FBI, $2.9 million came directly from the family trust accounts, and another $727,500 was pulled out through the refinancing of the victims’ Michigan home.⁴

Prosecutors said the money paid for a “playboy lifestyle.” Scripps bought Tiffany earrings, a diamond ring, and a Cartier necklace. He purchased four properties in New Orleans, bought his girlfriend a car, and traveled widely.³

Indictment, Trial, and Conviction

A grand jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania indicted Scripps on seven counts of wire fraud in June 2012. The government called fifteen witnesses, among them Melissa Scripps, David Scripps, Merrill Lynch employees, and Gleeson himself.⁵ Gleeson had already pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and cooperated with the prosecution, taking the stand against Scripps.³

On April 12, 2013, the jury convicted Scripps, then 36, on all seven counts.³

The Nine-Year Sentence

On July 15, 2013, U.S. District Judge Legrome D. Davis sentenced Scripps to 108 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered restitution of $3,634,019.⁴ Gleeson was sentenced separately to one year, and the two men were ordered to pay joint restitution of $3.6 million.⁶

Judge Davis pointed to several factors in setting the sentence. Scripps had stolen from a vulnerable, autistic uncle. He had refused to take responsibility for what he did. And he had shown no remorse. When the defense noted that Merrill Lynch employees caught up in the scheme had received shorter sentences, the court said those individuals had accepted responsibility and cooperated.⁵

The defense argued that Scripps had grown up in a chaotic household and that his mother had struggled with drug addiction, even asking her son to buy drugs for her.² Counsel added that Scripps had built a productive life after becoming estranged from his family. Judge Davis was unmoved: “He got caught stealing their money, so they didn’t want to have anything else to do with him.”⁶

The Appeal Over Allocution

Scripps lost his direct appeal to the Third Circuit. He then filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate his sentence, first on his own and then through appointed counsel. The core argument was that his appellate attorney had been ineffective by not raising a specific issue: the sentencing judge never personally addressed Scripps to ask whether he wanted to speak before being sentenced, as required by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.⁷

The District Court denied the motion without a hearing. On June 10, 2020, the Third Circuit vacated that order and sent the case back for an evidentiary hearing. The appellate court held that the sentencing judge had committed a Rule 32 error, and that an invitation to speak routed through defense counsel is not an adequate substitute for addressing the defendant personally.⁷ The court also found that Scripps was prejudiced by his appellate attorney’s omission, since there was a reasonable probability the sentence would have been vacated for resentencing had the issue been raised.

The Third Circuit did not order resentencing outright. It observed that appellate counsel might have had strategic reasons for leaving the issue alone, including the risk that a resentencing could produce a worse outcome. The evidentiary hearing was meant to sort that out.⁷

By the time the Third Circuit ruled, Scripps had already been released from prison and was serving the three-year supervised release portion of his sentence.⁸ The court noted the case was not moot because he was still directly challenging the sentence he was serving. The mandate was filed in the District Court in August 2020, and a docket entry from April 2021 reflects a “Transfer Out/Probationer” notation. The available public docket does not show a resentencing hearing.⁹

1
Aspen Daily News. The Scrambling Scripps
2
CBS News. Scripps Heir Gets 9 Years for Swindling Mom, Uncle
3
FBI. Scripps Media Heir Convicted at Trial for Stealing Millions From Family
4
FBI. Member of the Scripps Media Family Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Stealing Millions From Family
5
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. United States v. Scripps, No. 13-3284
6
CBS News. Scripps Heir Gets 9 Years for Swindling Mom, Uncle
7
FindLaw. United States v. Scripps, No. 18-2663
8
vLex. United States v. Scripps, 961 F.3d 626
9
CourtListener. United States v. Scripps, Docket No. 2:12-cr-00298