Former Michigan bank exec pleads guilty to sexual exploitation of children

A former Michigan bank executive pleaded guilty after federal authorities said he was involved in the sexual exploitation of children over a three-year period.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, federal prosecutors say that from 2022 to 2025, 68-year-old Michael Martin Yeager, of Milford, paid adults in multiple countries, including in the Philippines and Vietnam, to create explicit videos of children.

Federal prosecutors say Yeager was arrested in January 2026.   

U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon called Yeagar "wicked."

"The defendant's guilty plea is a measure of accountability for the children he exploited and harmed across international borders," said HSI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey. "HSI will continue to use its global investigative footprint and partnerships to identify offenders who finance and direct the sexual abuse of children, bring them to justice, and help protect vulnerable victims wherever they are found." 

Yeagar will be sentenced on Jan. 13, 2027. He faces up to 30 years in prison.