Michigan AG hits Republican ex-speaker's staff with embezzlement charges
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed charges against Anne and Robert Minard, who served as staff for former Republican Speaker Lee Chatfield.
The charges include conspiracy, criminal enterprise, embezzlement, filing false tax returns and more, Nessel said in a speech Thursday.
"Michigan residents deserve more," she said. "They deserve better than what this flawed system has allowed. As my team works on these investigations we are also meeting with the legislative work groups that have been formed to analyze and improve Michigan's campaign finance laws. And at the conclusion of these investigations, I will also be hearing very specific legislative recommendations that place additional sunshine on political fundraising and spending, and to make it more difficult for bad actors to engage in these kinds of activities."
She went on to say that the charges are not the conclusion of this specific investigation or any other public integrity investigations still moving forward in the A.G.'s office.
In January, 2022, "Chatfield's 26-year-old sister-in-law, Rebekah Chatfield, accused the former speaker of sexually abusing her beginning when she was 15 years old," The Detroit News reported in Feb. 2022. "The woman's attorney, Jamie White, said there were also unspecified financial allegations involving Lee Chatfield."
Rob Minard was serving as the speaker's chief of staff in 2019 and 2020 while his wife served as the director of external affairs. While authorities began an investigation into the speaker, there was also an investigation into Minard that spun off of the initial probe.
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Detroit News explained at the time of the search of the Minards' home that "authorities are entangling two well-connected operatives who've been involved in making and raising campaign money in their investigation."
It wasn't certain what they were looking for at the time, however, Anne Minard was the former treasurer to four political action committees that Chatfield used to raise campaign cash money, disclosures revealed.
One "social welfare" non-profit shares the address with a pro-Chatfield PAC called the Peninsula Fund.
"Victor Strategies received $151,568 in 2020 for fundraising work through Chatfield's Peninsula Fund," the report from 2022 explained. "The Peninsula Fund reported spending $142,266 on travel and entertainment for public officials and $454,337 on food, dining, travel and entertainment overall in 2020."
See the video of the briefing below or at the link here.
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