Former Michigan House speaker slated for Sept. 21 trial amid accusations of misusing political funds

Former Michigan’s House Speaker Lee Chatfield’s final pretrial concluded without any major developments, as attorneys for the state and the ex-lawmaker met Monday in chambers with Judge Morgan Cole of the 30th Circuit Court of Ingham County.

While the attorneys opted against on-the-record proceedings, Assistant Attorney General Kahla Crino told Michigan Advance they still plan to proceed to trial on Sept. 21. 

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel first announced charges against Chatfield in 2024, however the investigation into the ex-speaker began with the Michigan State Police in December 2021, when Chatfield’s sister-in-law filed a report saying Chatfield 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 2022 and expanded the investigation to include allegations of financial misconduct. However, her office later closed the sexual assault investigation without issuing charges, telling reporters they did not have sufficient evidence to bring the matter to trial.

Chatfield faces 13 felony charges, including conducting a criminal enterprise and several embezzlement charges, with the attorney general accusing Chatfield of misusing funds from his political action committees as well as the Peninsula Fund, a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization.

Through their investigation, Nessel said they found evidence Chatfield had received improper mileage reimbursements from state monies for trips he did not take and that he had used money from the Peninsula Fund for personal use, including renting an apartment, subletting it and pocketing the money from the sublease.

Chatfield has pleaded not guilty.

His wife, Stephanie, was recently sentenced to six months probation and 25 hours of community service and was fined $2,000 after she pleaded guilty to embezzling from the Peninsula Fund.

During a previous hearing on July 22, Gongwer News Service reported that the court accepted testimony from two former Chatfield aides, Anné and Rob Minard, as evidence. The Minards were sentenced to 36 months of probation as part of a plea agreement with the Michigan Department of Attorney General, agreeing to offer truthful testimony in future proceedings.

The admitted evidence included apartment-related reimbursements, which Crino said showed the intent to embezzle from the Peninsula Fund, and proof  of improper travel. According to Gongwer, Chatfield’s attorney, Mary Chartier-Mittendorf, argued the Minards had “every incentive to lie.”