Jason Bescoe

FLINT, MI - An Atlas Township man was charged with two counts of embezzlement after he allegedly swindled $2.7 million from two couples.

Jason Bescoe, 47, was arrested on two counts of embezzlement of $100,000 or more on Tuesday, Oct. 9, according to Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell.

Bescoe allegedly took $1.7 million from one couple and $925,000 from another retired couple, Pickell said.

Bescoe is accused of investing the $1.7 million in a growth fund, then transferring that money to another account before making transfers to his own accounts and his wife's account, according to Pickell.

"These are tough, tough crimes to prove because they're all paper-type crimes," Pickell said. "They involve search warrants - a lot of digging - and most police departments don't have the specialists that we do for this type of crime, that they're trained specifically to do that."

The money was invested with Bescoe's company from 2008-14, Pickell said.

Pickell said Bescoe is accused of using the money to pay for plane tickets, hotel stays and lavish meals.

Bescoe was arraigned on the two felony charges in Genesee District Court on Tuesday and is held in the Genesee County Jail in lieu of $2.7 million bail.

MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach Bescoe's attorney for comment on Wednesday, Oct. 10.

Bescoe was charged in August 2017 with embezzlement of $100,000 or more in the theft of about $300,000 from a couple.

In that case, Bescoe transferred money from the victims to his personal account.

Pickell said the money was used to pay for his house.

There is no new court date scheduled for Bescoe in that older case.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant in July at the Atlas Valley Country Club as part of an investigation into what Pickell said at the time was a suspected Ponzi scheme.

Ownership of the country club has since been transferred to his wife, Pickell said Wednesday.