The Michigan Attorney General announced yesterday that 30-year-old Joseph Vanator of Olivet has been arraigned for practicing accounting without a license. Not only practicing but, according to the AG, forging a certificate/license to practice accounting purporting to be issued by the State of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA).
Vanator was employed at Vanators & Associates, an accounting firm in Eaton County. We won’t put them on blast here as at least two of its people sharing that last name hold active CPA licenses in good standing in the state. However, while we’re here, we do want to know what this sentence on their website means:
Vanator has been charged with one count of Accounting Violations, a 5-year felony.
“Issuing certified public accountant licenses helps ensure that residents can trust that those providing financial services have the necessary training and expertise to do so,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said. “My office will continue working with LARA to hold those who falsify their qualifications accountable.”
To be fair, I think the Earth’s crust is still cooling so he wasn’t lying.