News Photo by Mike Gonzalez The front door of Legal Me on Chisholm Street is seen smashed in on Thursday afternoon after the Michigan State Police raided the law firm and arrested Alpena attorney Michelle Elowski.

ALPENA — Alpena attorney Michelle Elowski was charged with embezzlement on Friday.

Elowski was arrested on Thursday afternoon by the Michigan State Police at her office, Legal Me, on Chisholm Street in Apena.

She was formally charged on Friday in Oscoda County with two counts of common law fraud, one count of check fraud with non-sufficient funds of $500 or more, one count of embezzlement by a trustee of $1,000 or more but less than $20,000, and one count of embezzlement by a trustee of $50,000 or more but less than $100,000.

Elowski’s arraignment was held Friday in Oscoda County District Court before Judge Laura Frawley.

Julie Miller, of the Northeast Michigan Regional Defender Office, represented Elowski at arraignment but said she will not represent her in future proceedings so she could provide no further details on the case.

No one answered at a number listed for Elowski on the State Bar of Michigan website.

Elowski was being held on a surety bond of $500,000 and must pay 10%, or $50,000. She is scheduled for a probable cause conference on Feb. 7 and a preliminary examination on Feb. 12.

The State Police said in a news release one of the cases that agency investigated involves an Oscoda County resident, but Elowski has allegedly embezzled funds entrusted to her by multiple clients that had retained her for different legal matters.

State Police Specialist Lt. Derrick Carroll, a public information officer, said police expect to seek more charges and to identify more victims.

“We’re just at the tip of the iceberg,” Carroll said. “We’re expecting to get more victims that say Elowski allegedly took money that could put this case well over $1 million.”

Alpena’s Molly Werth told The News on Friday that she had hired Elowski to represent her in a divorce and was among those who spoke to the State Police about Elowski.

The News is not reporting details of her allegations because the newspaper could not confirm whether Weth’s story led to any of Elowski’s current charges.

“It was a nightmare,” Werth said of her experience with Elowski.

Werth said she also filed a complaint about Elowski with the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission. Complaints filed with that agency are confidential.

The State Police said in the news release anyone who believes they may be a victim of fraud or embezzlement by Elowski should contact the Alpena Post at 989-354-4101.