Nessel levels embezzlement charges against ex-aides of Lee Chatfield

Lansing — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel unveiled Thursday felony charges of embezzlement against two top staffers of former state House Speaker Lee Chatfield, shining a bright light on the flow of secret dollars to policymakers within state government.

During a press conference in Lansing, Nessel said Rob and Anne Minard financially exploited and defrauded political fundraising accounts through a pattern of improper reimbursements, double billings and falsified records. The attorney general described the Minards as "Lansing power brokers" who took advantage of the state's weak transparency laws to enrich themselves, wrongfully obtaining $525,000.

"These were concrete abuses in black and white," Nessel said. "So much so, that in some instances, it's obvious that they were counting on the fact that no one would ever review it."

Chatfield held the top position in the Michigan House in 2019 and 2020. Rob Minard was Chatfield's chief of staff. Rob Minard's wife, Anne Minard, was his director of external affairs. In addition to their taxpayer-funded jobs in the House, they had a political consulting firm, Victor Strategies, which thrived during Chatfield's term in power and helped oversee a fundraising operation that brought in millions of dollars and featured multiple nonprofit organizations.

Nessel's investigators have been probing Chatfield's prodigious fundraising for nearly two years. The Levering Republican remains under investigation, Nessel said.

The Democratic attorney general's announcement marked the second wave of criminal allegations, involving the use of money in Lansing, against high-profile state political figures in a year. In the spring, former House Speaker Rick Johnson, two lobbyists and a businessman pleaded guilty to participating in a bribery scheme involving the state's marijuana industry. Federal prosecutors brought those corruption charges.

Nessel contended Thursday that Michigan's lax campaign finance laws allowed the Minards to hide repeated embezzlement "under the guise of the business of fundraising."

"Michigan residents deserve more," Nessel said. "They deserve better than what this flawed system has allowed."

Anne Minard, who was Chatfield's chief fundraiser, faces 12 felony counts in the alleged criminal enterprise, while her husband faces nine felony counts, according to court records. The charges against both of them are one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, one count of conspiracy to conduct a criminal enterprise, four counts of false pretenses, one count of embezzlement and one count of filing a false tax return.

Anne Minard also faces two additional counts of embezzlement and two additional counts of false pretenses. Rob Minard has been charged with an additional count of false pretenses.

The allegation of conducting a criminal enterprise is among the most serious, carrying a penalty of up to 20 years behind bars.

Anne Minard's lawyer, Gerald Gleeson, said he and his client "look forward to addressing the charges in the courtroom."

Likewise, attorney Robert Harrison, who's representing Rob Minard, said the charging warrant against his client read "like a statement of what every campaign, local, state or federal, runs like. 

"Substitute the Minards for any other campaign managers and take your pick about who to indict," Harrison said.

How the investigation began

The Minards are scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 3 in East Lansing before Ingham County District Court 54B Chief Judge Molly Hennessey Greenwalt, Nessel said. The couple will be allowed to voluntarily surrender to authorities, the attorney general said.

Judge Hennessey Greenwalt authorized the charges shortly before Nessel held the Thursday afternoon press conference in Lansing.

Chatfield served six years in the Michigan House, spending his final two — 2019 and 2020 — as the speaker, the most powerful position in the chamber.

Two years ago, in December 2021, The Detroit News obtained a tax filing that showed the Peninsula Fund, a nonprofit organization tied to Chatfield, reported spending $142,266 on travel and entertainment for public officials in 2020 alone.

Nessel's office and the Michigan State Police began investigating Lee Chatfield a month later, in January 2022, after his sister-in-law, Rebekah Chatfield, publicly alleged that the former lawmaker had sexually abused her beginning when she was 15 years old. In January 2022, Chatfield's lawyer, Mary Chartier, said his affair with Rebekah Chatfield lasted years, but they were "both consenting adults."

The probe into Lee Chatfield, whose family members had gotten jobs in the Michigan Legislature and the burgeoning marijuana industry, quickly turned to his political fundraising and how he and his associates used the money he collected.

More:Lee Chatfield traveled the nation as Michigan's speaker, but who paid?

More:Lee Chatfield suspected of engaging in criminal enterprise

More:How ex-House Speaker Lee Chatfield provided foothold in state government for lobbyists

Nessel on Thursday described the investigation into Lee Chatfield as ongoing, saying a decision on whether he will face charges is yet to be made. Chartier has denied that her client did anything improper.

Lee Chatfield raised money through four political action committees (PACs), which had to disclose details about their contributors and expenditures, and a series of nonprofit organizations that could keep information about donors secret.

In unveiling the charges against the Minards, the attorney general specifically mentioned the Peninsula Fund and Make Michigan First, two nonprofits connected to Chatfield.

In a joint Thursday statement, Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, and House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, said the charges were "the first of what we expect to be multiple steps in addressing the unparalleled level of corruption that was celebrated in Lee Chatfield’s inner circle."

“Our new majority will continue in its mission of restoring trust between constituents and their elected leaders through transparency and ethics reform," Brinks and Tate said.

In February 2022, Michigan State Police troopers searched the Lansing area home of Anne and Robert Minard.

In October 2022, The News obtained search warrant records that revealed the Attorney General's office was investigating Lee Chatfield for his connection to an alleged "criminal enterprise," potentially involving embezzlement, bribery, campaign finance violations and controlled substances.

cmauger@detroitnews.com