Local 'Survivor' Contestant Faces Ponzi, Chid Porn Charges

WHITE LAKE, MI – An Oakland County reality television contestant has been charged with multiple child pornograpy, racketeering and other charges, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said.

Michael Skupin, 54, of White Lake, who appeared on “Survivor: The Australian Outback” and “Survivor: Philippines” on CBS, was arraigned Friday in Clarkston on six counts of child pornography, five counts of larceny by conversion, and one count of racketeering for running a Ponzi scheme.

“Not only did this man rob people of their hard earned savings with his financial scams but he victimized innocent children every time he looked at a piece of child pornography,” Schuette said in a statement. “This man seems to have no concept or caring for right and wrong and will be prosecuted under the full extent of the law for these horrific crimes.”

Magistrate Daniel Schuman set bond at $350,000. If bond is met, Skupin must wear a GPS tether, cannot have any unsupervised visits with children or leave the state. Skupin will next appear in court for a pre-exam conference at 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 19.

Schuette’s office began investigating Skupin after victims from his alleged Ponzi scheme contacted a local news reporter.

Schuette’s office alleges that Skupin recruited investors and friends to take part in his “gifting scheme” called Pay It Forward. Victims allegedly made $10,000 cash investments in the scheme. Their money would then cycle through a chart in which participants were eventually paid out of other new investors’ money.

The scheme was discovered when eventually there were no new investors signing and most people in the scheme lost all of their money, Schuette said.

When investigators searched Skupin’s laptop in conjunction with the Ponzi scheme investigation, they discovered images of underage children in sexual situations. The images are alleged to belong to Skupin.

Possession of child sexual abusive materials is a four-year felony; larceny by conversion is a five-year felony; and racketeering-conducting a criminal enterprise is a 20-year felony.

Skupin remained in the Oakland County Jail Sunday.

» Screenshot via YouTube