Following the conclusion of a preliminary examination on Friday, a Michigan judge will decide whether former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield and his spouse will face trial in an embezzlement investigation connected to their political foundation.
During her final remarks, Mary Chartier, the lawyer for Lee and Stephanie Chatfield, told the court that the lawsuit against the former GOP congressman is just a political ploy by the Democratic Attorney General’s office, which is handling the prosecution. According to a lot of her assertions, the Chatfields were not very close to the Peninsula Fund, their organization.
Prosecutors, however, claimed that the pair unlawfully transferred funds to cover personal costs including clothing, exercise memberships, and trips.
The Dykema law company was engaged to make sure the nonprofit was used properly, which the Chatfields were not legally required to do, and the firm failed to stop the reported expenditure, Chartier pointed out during the three days of preliminary tests.
Why in the world would you employ a reputable, top-tier law firm in this field, grant them complete access to the records, and then attempt to run your scam to embezzle if there is some grand scheme to steal money from the Peninsula Fund? “Charterier said.”
Renae Moore, a senior compliance analyst at Dykema law firm, who was in charge of making sure that spending for the Peninsula Fund, the political nonprofit run by former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield, claimed that personal expenses such as dry cleaning, haircuts, and a bill from a strip club were all justified.
Moore claimed there was a pause when a strip club receipt was turned in.
According to Moore, the subject of whether it was an allowed expense was raised. We had to believe that the information we were given—that it was for a meeting expense—was accurate.
Moore testified Wednesday that a standards and procedures guide was created to reduce the personal expenses when it was discovered that there was a pattern of questionable spending from the Peninsula Fund.
The Peninsula Fund is allowed to participate in some political activities as a 501(c)(4) non-profit social welfare organization, but it is required by federal law to function solely to advance the common good and not for private benefit.
Assistant Attorney General Kahla Crino stated in her closing arguments on Friday that Lee Chatfield, who served from 2014 to 2020, is regarded as a powerful fundraiser for the Republican party in Michigan and that it is irrational to claim that he was unaware of the fundamental goal of his 501(c)(4), which is to be focused on social welfare.
According to the Michigan Attorney General’s office, Chatfield raised $5 million during his six years in the legislature.
Not only was Mr. Chatfield an agent of the Peninsula Fund, but he was arguably its most significant agent. In fact, according to Crino, the Peninsula Fund might not have existed at all if Mr. Chatfield had not been elected to office.
Nessel charges former Speaker Chatfield and his spouse with criminal enterprise.
Michele Gallagher, the prosecution’s forensic accounting expert witness, prepared a report for the Michigan Attorney General’s office that looked into the Chatfields’ financial records. She informed the court on Thursday that the Peninsula Fund reimbursed 99% of the more than $150,000 spent on the Chatfields’ personal credit cards between January 2020 and April 2021.
Gallagher’s investigations, for instance, revealed that Lee Chatfield used $1,700 from the Peninsula Fund to refund his personal credit card for items made during a 2020 family vacation in Orlando, Florida. These include purchases from wineries, Ugg and Coach boutiques, and the Harry Potter and Spider-Man souvenir shops at Universal Studios.
During her closing statements, Crino refuted Chartier’s assertion that the criminal allegations are political, stating that the only reason a financial crimes case exists is because a member of Lee Chatfield’s own family informed local authorities of the former lawmaker’s unlawful behavior.
In December 2021, Chatfield’s sister-in-law, Rebekah Chatfield, reported to the Lansing Police Department that he had sexually molested her for over ten years, beginning when she was 14 or 15 years old. This sparked the initial inquiry into Chatfield.
For months, State Police looked into allegations of sexual assault and also examined evidence of financial crimes that Rebekah Chatfield had reported. In September 2022, authorities handed the matter over to Nessel’s office. Nessel’s office filed the embezzlement accusations in April, but because there was insufficient evidence, the sexual assault inquiry was closed.
According to Chartier, the claims of sexual assault are untrue.
Rebekah Chatfield testified on Thursday that Lee Chatfield created jobs for her and her brother, Aaron Chatfield, her husband. According to her, the two would be instructed to go to the bank and withdraw money for Lee Chatfield.
In court, Rebekah Chatfield also stated that she had previously informed investigators that a staff member named Anne Minard was in charge of the funds and that Lee Chatfield was not providing guidance on financial matters.
Prosecutors claim that Chatfield’s top aides, Robert and Anne Minard, embezzled more than half a million dollars while working for the former speaker using state campaign committees and nonprofit organizations, and they also falsified tax returns as part of the Michigan Attorney General’s investigation into Chatfield’s financial activities. The two have pleaded not guilty.
During testimony this week, a number of Chatfield family members and their relatives confirmed that Anne Minard was the Peninsula Fund’s president and the main contact for Moore and the other members of the Dykema legal firm that managed the fund’s compliance.
Wilbur Lovitt, a boyhood friend of Lee Chatfield and his brothers, told the court on Thursday that Anne Minard was a workhorse for the Chatfields. He described how she would arrange the airfare and other costs for the several vacations he took with Lee Chatfield, including visits to the Bahamas, Las Vegas, and Miami, where he frequently avoided paying for the trip’s necessities.
Lovitt utilized money from the $5,000 check he received from the Chatfield Majority Fund, a political action committee, to pay for a vacation to the Bahamas in 2018, where he claimed that members of the Chatfield family and other males he referred to as his best friends visited bars and a casino at a resort.
According to Lovitt’s testimony, he gave Lee Chatfield several hundred dollars to tip for bottle service and an additional few hundred dollars to gamble at Chatfield’s request.
During Lee Chatfield’s political career, Lovitt and his brothers Paul and Aaron Chatfield testified that they were unofficial employees at various points. Specifically, during campaigns, they served constituents and put up campaign signs, frequently putting in well over 40-hour work weeks that were paid for by the Chatfield Majority Fund in the form of checks totaling several thousand dollars.
Given that the Peninsula Fund and the Chatfield Majority Fund are two unique fund types, the difference between the two will be taken into account when determining which charges, if any, will go to trial in the 54B District Court. Over the coming weeks, Judge Molly Hennessey Greenwalt will think everything through and make a judgment.
Eliot Pierce is a dedicated writer for ChiefsFocus.com, covering local crime and finance news. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, Eliot aims to provide his readers with clear and insightful analysis, helping them navigate the complexities of their financial lives while staying informed about important local events. His commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content makes him a valuable resource for the community.