Scott Swan/Eyewitness News
Hamilton County - The wife of the former Geist money manager who pleaded guilty to securities fraud said on a cable television show she knows she must forgive him one day.
Michelle Schrenker made the statement on Investigation Discovery's "Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?" The program aired the same day that her estranged husband Marcus Schrenker sat down for an exclusive interview with Eyewitness News at the Hamilton County Jail.
Michelle Schrenker declined interview requests Wednesday after emerging from a courtroom where she watched Marcus Schrenker plead guilty to charges of securities fraud. Michelle shared her story on Investigation Discovery's "Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?"
"It was sad to me what he had become and where he was. I just wish he would have asked for help," said Michelle Schrenker. The show used dramatizations to portray Marcus Schrenker as a man with a temper.
"It was a bit like walking on eggshells. You never quite knew who was coming through the door at five o'clock," said Michelle Schrenker. On the program, Michelle said she learned her husband's plane crashed in Florida in January 2009 when authorities came to her home on Cocktail Cove.
"I was just like, I am in some sort of sick dream or something. What do you mean he parachuted out," said Michelle Schrenker.
But in an Eyewitness News exclusive interview with Scott Swan at the Hamilton County Jail, Marcus Schrenker claims he shared his plan with Michelle.
"I told Michelle what I was going to do. I told her it would look like an accident," said Marcus Schrenker. "Michelle filed for divorce. I lost the business and $30 million and my step-father died. I just snapped."
"I know his world was caving in on him but there's no way to get away with all of this. There's no where to run. It's all gonna catch up to you," said Michelle Schrenker on "Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?"
Marcus Schrenker says the plan to fake his death was the answer to his financial problems.
"If I would have died that night, it would have been a $10 million insurance pay-out," said Marcus Schrenker. "Me going away was a gift. They wouldn't have to give up the house."
"You can't leave 3 kids behind and your family," said Michelle Schrenker.
Marcus Schrenker faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced October 7.
"Michelle knew everything that was going on in the company," said Marcus Schrenker.
That is an allegation Michelle denies.
"I simply wrote out the checks. That's it. Writing out checks doesn't mean I know everything about what he was doing. I wasn't turning a blind eye. I wasn't doing anything. I trusted him. You're supposed to trust your husband," says Michelle Schrenker.
Michelle Schrenker was never charged in the criminal case.
See all stories and documents related to the Schrenker case.
Michelle Schrenker
Marcus Schrenker
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