Farmington Hills, Farmington

Hills man charged with stealing electricity for 20 years

FARMINGTON HILLS — A Farmington Hills man has been charged with stealing electricity from DTE Energy for two decades.

Barry Robbins, 48, was charged Oct. 22 with Public Utility – Fraudulent Use over $500, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. DTE Energy Spokesman Len Singer said the company also has filed a civil suit against Robbins, in an attempt to recoup the roughly $200,000 in electricity they believe he has stolen since 1988. Singer calls it a growing problem, but said this is not a situation where Robbins stole service simply due to economic constraints.

“There are situations with Michigan’s tough economy where people are stealing gas or electric service for financial need,” Singer said. “In some desperation they made the decision to bypass the meters and electricity meters and steal the service.

“Then, in other cases — like this one — there are people who steal service just to bypass the system. This is an individual who has a business, who has a swimming pool and a garage and a pole barn full of lots of electrical equipment in it that is simply bypassing the system and not paying for the full amount of the electricity he is using.”

According to statements made at his arraignment, Robbins grew up in the home in the 21000 block of Orchard Lake Road since 1960 and purchased it in 1988. It is from that time they suspect he created a sophisticated system inside the home to bypass being charged for the full amount of the electricity he has been using. However, because some usage still was monitored, billed and paid for, no red flags were raised. Due to customer privacy, Singer wouldn’t say how much Robbins was paying monthly.

Robbins allegedly was bragging about stealing electricity, which led to someone giving DTE Energy a tip about the situation. They monitored the home’s usage from November 2007 to August 2008, during which time he used between $7,000 and $8,000 in electricity for which he didn’t pay.

“When you look at the bill and compare it to the amount of electrical equipment that’s actually running that house, he was only paying for a fraction of what he was using,” Singer said.

Among the items Robbins was powering were a hydraulic lift used for vehicle repairs, a special spa heater typically used for hot tubs to heat his swimming pool to 90 degrees, refrigerators, freezers and air conditioning units in the barn and the house. Singer said Robbins’ attorney indicated in court that someone who did electrical work on the home years ago — who now is deceased — must have rigged the system and Robbins was unaware of it.

“(Robbins’ attorney) is indicating that (Robbins) wasn’t aware that there was anything amiss here,” Singer said. “This work was done, he pays his bills every month and he was just unaware that anything like this was happening. We think the evidence will show otherwise.”

Singer said rigging a system to steal gas or electricity poses financial problems and puts those living or playing around homes at risk of the possibility of fires or gas explosions.

“It’s the rest of the customers who end up paying for those who are stealing from the business,” he said. “And there’s a safety issue when people are stealing gas or electric service. This was a pretty sophisticated system, but many of them are jerry-rigged and are dangerous.”

DTE Energy handed over its findings to the Farmington Hills Police Department in August, Lt. David Stasch said. The department submitted the information to Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca’s office, which filed the charges before Robbins’ Oct. 22 arraignment.

Stasch said Robbins is set to appear in front of Judge Marla Parker at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 31 in 47th District Court in Farmington Hills for a pre-exam conference. Robbins’ preliminary hearing tentatively is scheduled for Nov. 7. An attorney for Robbins could not be reached by press time.