Ex-Speaker Lee Chatfield, wife in court as prelim exam begins on financial charges
EAST LANSING — Former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield was back in court Wednesday, as a preliminary exam hearing to decide whether the former House Republican leader and his wife will stand trial over a series of financial charges began in East Lansing.
Lee Chatfield faces 13 embezzlement, conspiracy and larceny charges in 54B District Court, accused by the Michigan Attorney General's Office and in court documents of improperly using public funds and private money raised through political nonprofits to pay for flights, meals at upscale restaurants and family vacations while he was in office. His wife, Stephanie Chatfield, also faces one count each of embezzlement and conspiracy.
The most serious charge faced by Lee Chatfield, conducting a criminal enterprise, is a 20-year felony, if convicted. Both charges against Stephanie Chatfield each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, if convicted.
Both Lee and Stephanie Chatfield pleaded not guilty, through their attorneys, at an arraignment last year.
Michigan State Police started an investigation into Lee Chatfield in 2022 after his brother's wife, Rebekah Chatfield, told Lansing police in late 2021 the former speaker sexually assaulted her for years, starting when she was approximately 15 years old. She said it began when she was a student and Lee Chatfield was a teacher at a small private religious school run by his father in northern Michigan. The Michigan Attorney General's Office began assisting state police with the probe, which expanded to investigate allegations of campaign finance violations.
Lee Chatfield's attorney, Mary Chartier, previously said that he had a consensual affair with his sister-in-law but did not commit any crimes.
When Attorney General Dana Nessel announced charges against the Chatfields in April, she said the investigation into the sexual assault allegations was closed without charges.
An investigation into Lee and Stephanie Chatfield's financial conduct remains open, Danny Wimmer, press secretary for Nessel's office, told the Detroit Free Press last week.
In an emailed statement at the time the financial charges were made against the Chatfields, Chartier called the charges politically motivated, and said: 'We are prepared to fight them each and every step of the way.'
'While we don't represent Mrs. Chatfield, it appears that she is being used as a pawn in a political prosecution, and we're confident that her attorney will effectively fight these charges in court on her behalf,' Chartier said at the time.
District Judge Molly Hennessey Greenwalt is presiding over the preliminary examination. Preliminary examinations are hearings held in criminal proceedings to determine whether there is enough evidence to send a case to a jury trial. The hearing is expected to last through Friday.
Lee Chatfield, now 36, was Speaker of the Michigan House in 2019 and 2020. He was considered a strong fundraiser during his time in Michigan politics — including raising millions of dollars through certain nonprofits, sometimes called social welfare funds.
The Attorney General's Office alleges in court filings Lee Chatfield used the Peninsula Fund, a political nonprofit, to cover personal expenses, including a $132,000 credit card balance. In an affidavit filed in the case, an investigator with Nessel's office wrote the credit card was used to pay for charges "clearly personal in nature," including purchases at gift shops at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, and other expenses made during a family vacation in November 2020.
Nessel, in April, said Lee Chatfield also used a "check kickback" scheme, in which he wrote checks from funds to an associate or relative and then took back cash to spend on personal expenses. The affidavit asserts the money was then used for personal expenses, such as a trip to the Bahamas in 2018.
The Attorney General's Office also alleges in court filings Lee Chatfield wrongly sought mileage and travel reimbursements afforded to him as a member of the House for trips he didn't take and personally profited from subletting an apartment paid for by the Peninsula Fund.
Stephanie Chatfield is accused of improperly assisting in the embezzlement of Peninsula Fund money for personal use, according to a document filed in court by Nessel's office.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Preliminary exam for former Mich. House Speaker Lee Chatfield underway
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