LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Prosecutors charged the former Michigan House leader and his wife Tuesday with financial crimes, alleging they milked political bills for personal travel, housing and other benefits as the Republican lawmaker raised millions of dollars of his mighty after.
Lee Chatfield misused several political funds, including his Peninsula Fund, which was not required to disclose the names of donors and served as an ‘unregulated slush fund,’ Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
The operation was a family affair, as wife Stephanie Chatfield monitored her husband’s credit card balance and paid it off with cash from the Peninsula Fund, including $132,000 over 14 months, Nessel said.
In another example, Nessel said Lee Chatfield’s brother cashed a $5,000 check from a political fund in 2020 and returned $3,500 to the lawmaker ahead of a vacation, Nessel said.
Lee Chatfield’s various political funds raised more than $5 million over six years, including more than $2 million in 2020, which was his final year as speaker, the attorney general said.
“To call him, as many have, a prodigious fundraiser would not be an exaggeration,” Nessel said.
Lee Chatfield faces 13 charges, including conducting a criminal enterprise, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and embezzlement.
Chatfield’s attorney, Mary Chartier, said she will fight the charges “every step of the way.”
“It took almost two and a half years for the AG’s office to issue charges. It will be pretty weak if it lasts that long,” Chartier said.
Stephanie Chatfield was charged with embezzlement. A message seeking comment from her attorney, Matt Newburg, was not immediately returned.
Nessel said there is a proliferation of “dark money” political funds. She said the Peninsula Fund was organized under federal law as a tax-exempt “social welfare organization.”
“The Michigan Campaign Finance Act is essentially toothless, useless and utterly worthless as a deterrent to these crimes,” she said.
“The misuse of Social Security funds is not a new practice in Lansing. And while Lee Chatfield may have exploited the system a little more than others, no political party has perverted or abused it alone,” she said.
In addition, there was a renewed call Tuesday to expand financial disclosure laws in Michigan.
“We will not give up the kind of anti-corruption laws that this state needs and that most other states have,” said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat. “These allegations really underscore the real need to get more people into Lansing than ever before.”
The Chatfield investigation began in 2022 when his sister-in-law publicly said he sexually assaulted her. He has denied the allegations and said it was a consensual affair. Investigators eventually expanded the case beyond these claims.
Nessel said there was insufficient evidence to charge Lee Chatfield based on Rebekah Chatfield’s allegations, although she praised her courage for coming forward.
“Without her, we probably wouldn’t be here today,” the attorney general said.
Two people who were top aides to Lee Chatfield when he led the House of Representatives were charged last year with crimes including embezzlement of nonprofit funds created for political purposes. Rob and Anne Minard have pleaded not guilty.
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White reported from Detroit.
