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Top aides to former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield have been bound over for trial on numerous felony charges related to a scheme authorities say involved embezzling over a half-million dollars.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday that Anne and Robert Minard of Bath Township were ordered by 54B District Court Chief Judge Molly Hennessey Greenwalt to stand trial in Ingham County Circuit Court for their role in allegedly misappropriating funds from three non-profits and a Political Action Committee tied to Chatfield (R-Levering).
Nessel announces criminal enterprise charges against former Speaker Chatfield and his wife
The Minards had sought to quash evidence that was seized during a warrant search of their home, claiming it “failed to establish a nexus between the place to be searched and the evidence sought.” In her bindover ruling, however, Judge Greenwalt determined that there was “probable cause to believe that these records would be found at defendants’ home,” and dismissed their motion.
The couple was charged last December with a variety of felonies. Anne Minard, who was Chatfield’s external affairs director, faces a total of 12 felonies, while Robert Minard, who was the former speaker’s chief of staff, faces nine felonies, including embezzlement, conducting a criminal enterprise and filing a false tax return. Some of the charges carry a 20 year maximum prison sentence.
“The Minards engaged in a vast, complex scheme of fraud, and through this deception, stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from non-profits and political action committees,” said Nessel. “My department is pleased to see this case progress and remains committed to pursuing political operatives who violate the law for their own personal gain.”
The charges against the Minards were the result of an investigation into Chatfield for financial misconduct and sexual assault, during which Nessel said investigators found that just between 2018 to 2020 the couple pocketed at least $525,000 by misappropriating funds from multiple channels including nonprofit organizations and state campaign committees, as well as falsifying adjusted gross income on their 2020 taxes.
Chatfield and his wife, Stephanie Chatfield, were charged in April with multiple felony counts. The former speaker faces 13 charges, including conducting a criminal enterprise, embezzlement and a violation of the Charitable Trust Act. Stephanie Chatfield faces two counts; embezzlement from a nonprofit organization and conspiracy to commit embezzlement from a nonprofit organization.
Michigan State Police began investigating Lee Chatfield in December 2021 following a report filed by his sister-in-law, Rebekah Chatfield, that he had sexually assaulted her for more than a decade, beginning when she was 14 or 15 years old. Nessel’s office took over the case in September 2022 and the investigation was expanded to include allegations that Chatfield had misappropriated funds. Ultimately, Nessel said she closed the sexual assault investigation without issuing charges as there was sufficient evidence.