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lansing —Attorney General Dana Nessel on Tuesday unveiled 13 criminal charges against former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield, alleging that he used credit card payments and funds for purchases at wineries and retail stores at nonprofit organizations. He said the funds had been grossly misused.
Nessel’s office has also accused Lee Chatfield’s wife, Stephanie Chatfield, of being involved in the alleged scheme. Nessel said Lee Chatfield received kickbacks from his co-workers and took $132,000 in personal Chase credit card payments from a nonprofit called the Peninsula Fund, which was supposed to focus on promoting social welfare. It is said that it was used for Chatfield’s political funds were used for a trip to the Bahamas, purchases from high-end fashion retailer Coach, groceries and food deliveries, Nessel added.
The announcement comes after a two-year investigation into Republican politicians in Levering, where for years powerful officials were able to secretly raise money from donors through nonprofit accounts. This marked a potential crossroads for ethics reform.
Nessel, a Democrat and the state’s top law enforcement official, said Lee Chatfield’s actions were a product of a “culture of underground finance” in Michigan’s capital.
“Michigan’s campaign finance laws are effectively toothless, ineffective, and completely worthless as a deterrent to these crimes,” Nessel said. “If the laws governing disclosure were literally written by crooks, then nothing would be more wasteful.” For the very purpose of violating them. ”
Lee Chatfield’s attorney, Mary Chartier, hinted in a statement Tuesday ahead of Nessel’s 2 p.m. press conference that the former chairman is expected to face charges.
“It took almost two and a half years for the attorney general’s office to compile the charges against Mr. Chatfield,” Chartier said. “We are ready to fight them every step of the way.”
Former teacher Lee Chatfield was once considered a rising star in Republican politics. He defeated a Republican incumbent in the 2014 primary and held the most powerful position in the Michigan House of Representatives in 2019 and 2020.
The criminal charges against Lee Chatfield included embezzlement, theft, and running a criminal enterprise. The criminal enterprise charge is the most serious and can carry up to 20 years in prison.
Stephanie Chatfield is charged with conspiracy to embezzle from a nonprofit organization and embezzlement from a nonprofit organization. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
investigating
Nessel previously announced criminal charges against Robert Minard and Ann Minard, two of Chatfield’s top advisers during his 2019-2020 term when he chaired the corruption investigation.
Nessel said Tuesday that the investigation into Lee Chatfield’s use of political funds continues.
“We have not completely ruled out additional charges against the Chatfields and many others,” Nessel said at a news conference. “…This is the beginning of the charging process for the previous speaker.”
Mr. Chatfield will be allowed to appear before authorities for arraignment on the charges on May 2 in Ingham County District Court.
Money from the Peninsula Fund will be used to purchase items at the Spider-Man souvenir shop and the Harry Potter-themed restaurant Three Broomsticks during Chatfield’s family vacation to Universal Studios in Florida. He is said to have paid for the purchases on credit cards, including the transaction.
In addition to using the nonprofit organization to pay for personal credit card expenses, Mr. Chatfield filed with the House of Representatives for improper mileage reimbursement and sublet an apartment in downtown Lansing to use the nonprofit organization’s funds. paid as.
As speaker, Chatfield asked the House to reimburse him for 42,337 miles he drove in 2019 and 2020, although about 21,280 miles appeared to be related to trips he didn’t actually take, according to the attorney general’s office. It is said that
Lee Chatfield’s monthly rent, paid by the Peninsula Foundation, was $775 for an apartment in downtown Lansing near the Capitol. Nessel said he sublet the apartment space for $250 a month and pocketed the money he earned instead of returning it to the Peninsula Foundation.
The Detroit News reported in December 2022 that Chatfield used funds from the Peninsula Fund to rent an apartment from an entity connected to the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association, a regulatory lobbying group in Congress. revealed.
Nessel said Lee Chatfield also wrote a $5,000 check from one of his political accounts to his brother Aaron Chatfield in November 2020, and the expense was listed as “wages.” That’s what it means. In exchange, Lee Chatfield allowed Aaron Chatfield to keep $1,500 and $3,500 to be repatriated to Lee. Nessel said the $3,500 was used to fund a family trip to Florida.
In addition, Lee Chatfield and some of his friends and staff took a trip to the Bahamas in December 2018, Nessel added. He said the Peninsula Foundation reimbursed him for $32,000 in travel-related expenses.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Stephanie Chatfield was responsible for monitoring Lee Chatfield’s personal credit card balances and making payments from the Peninsula Fund account.
“Mr. Lee and Stephanie Chatfield worked together to pay Mr. Lee’s personal credit card bills,” Robert Menard, a special agent with the Attorney General’s Office, said in a criminal complaint filed in court Tuesday. “We have made it easier to use Peninsula Fund funds.”
more:Lee Chatfield traveled the country as Michigan state chairman, but who paid for it?
History of spacecraft
Michigan State Police have been investigating Leigh Chatfield since January 2022 after her sister-in-law, Rebecca Chatfield, filed a complaint alleging that she had been sexually abused by him since she was 15 years old. started.
Nessel announced Tuesday that the sexual assault investigation was closed without charges.
“We find that the sexual assault charge cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” Nessel said in a statement.
The investigation into Rebecca Chatfield’s claims will focus deeply on the former lawmaker’s use of millions of dollars in political contributions she collected while holding the top seat in the Michigan House of Representatives in 2019 and 2020. Ta. Mr. Chatfield maintained several nonprofit organizations that raised and disbursed funds. Almost secretly.
Lee Chatfield, who was first elected in November 2014, stepped down at the end of 2020 due to term limits.
Rebecca Chatfield’s attorney, Jamie White, said he has been informed that the charges filed Tuesday are not related to her case at this time.
more:Lee Chatfield suspected of engaging in criminal activity
Sen. John Dammuth (R-Harbour Springs), who took Chatfield’s House seat after Chatfield left Lansing, told reporters Tuesday morning that he will be prosecuted if he violates the law. He said it was necessary.
“Public trust is very important,” Damous said. “The people are sending us here and trusting us to do the right thing to the best of our ability.”
In December, Mr. Nessel disclosed felony embezzlement charges against two Chatfield staff members, Ann Minard and Rob Minard. Rob Minard and Anne Minard are alleged to have financially exploited and defrauded Chatfield’s political fundraising accounts through a pattern of improper reimbursements, double billing, and falsifying records.
The charges against Chatfield come about a year after former Michigan House Speaker Rick Johnson, a fellow Republican, was indicted on April 6, 2023, on charges of bribery as chairman of the state Medical Cannabis Licensing Commission. I was disappointed.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
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