OSCODA COUNTY — In February 2023, the Michigan State Police Alpena Post was contacted by a woman alleging a family member had forged her signature on a document that granted them 50% ownership of her business, state police said Monday.
This was done without her permission, and she wished to pursue charges, troopers said.
The suspect, 45-year-old Duane Gregory Bills from Mio, had allegedly approached another man asking him to forge the victim’s signature, troopers said. The man did not feel comfortable forging the signature and refused.
The victim later learned her signature had been forged. She obtained the documents and turned them over to troopers, and the documents were sent to the Michigan State Police Crime in Lansing to be analyzed by the Question Documents Unit, officials said.
Interviews were conducted and a report, along with the MSP Questions Document Unit findings, were turned to the Oscoda County Prosecutor’s Office.
An arrest warrant was authorized for Bills on Jan. 25. Bills turned himself in at the Oscoda County Jail the following day, troopers said.
Bills was arraigned in the 81st District Court in Oscoda County on one count of forgery of document affecting real property.