Lee Chatfield corruption case: Family, friends took free trips, cashed checks

• Lee Chatfield, House speaker from 2019 and 2020, faces corruption charges alleging he used political funds for personal gain
• In court this week, relatives and friends said they cashed checks from those funds and paid Chatfield
• His attorney says charges are baseless and Attorney General Dana Nessel is ‘weaponizing’ her office

EAST LANSING – Lee Chatfield’s jet-setting lifestyle was under scrutiny Thursday as Michigan prosecutors sought to support allegations the former state House speaker funneled money from fundraising accounts to his own pockets.

In testimony, Chatfield’s two brothers, sister-in-law and a longtime family friend described cashing checks from the Republican, returning some of the money to him and joining him on free trips to Las Vegas, Miami and the Bahamas.

“I do not know who was paying for (trips) at the end of the day, but it was not me,” Chatfield’s childhood friend Wil Lovitt testified at Ingham County District Court.

Chatfield and his wife, Stephanie, listened to the testimony during the second day of a hearing that will determine whether they stand trial for corruption-related charges involving alleged misuse of political, nonprofit and taxpayer funds. 

Both have pleaded not guilty, and Chatfield’s defense attorney argued Thursday that prosecutors “have not proven by independent evidence that there is conspiracy to commit a crime.” 

Related:

• Lee Chatfield corruption case: ‘Questionable’ spending, a strip club bill
• Ex-House Speaker Lee Chatfield, wife plead not guilty to corruption charges
• The case against Lee Chatfield: Fake mileage, kickbacks and Harry Potter trips
• Chatfield staffers to stand trial on embezzlement charges, Michigan judge rules

Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office alleges Chatfield and his wife used the millions of dollars he fundraised to fuel a luxury lifestyle, in turn conducting a “criminal enterprise.”

Michelle Gallagher, a forensic accountant who reviewed the financial documents for the attorney general, testified that over the span of a year from 2020 to 2021, the Chatfields charged more than $153,000 to personal credit cards, while the nonprofit Peninsula Fund paid off more than $152,000 of the debt.

Gallagher testified that nearly $21,700 of that was for improper expenses, including tickets to Universal Studios in Florida, a $1,353 dinner at Ocean Prime in Naples, Florida, nearly $1,000 in dry cleaning and more than $650 from the Vineyard Vines clothing company.

The investigation began when Rebekah Chatfield, who was Lee’s sister-in-law at the time, alleged he had sexually abused her for more than a decade. 

While Nessel’s office did not bring charges over those claims, the probe expanded to focus on Chatfield’s finances and his top aides in the Legislature, Anné and Rob Minard, who face embezzlement charges.

Rebekah Chatfield testified Thursday that she cashed checks from one of Lee’s fundraising accounts with her husband, Aaron Chatfield, who previously told Bridge he’d worked for his brother as a driver and unofficial assistant.

“Many times we would be preparing to go on a trip, and Aaron would say, ‘Hey, I just received this check, and we should go cash it or deposit it,’ and part of the money would be returned back to Lee for the trip,” she said, testifying that the checks usually ranged from $2,000 to $5,000.

While leading the Michigan House from 2019 to 2020, Chatfield took multiple trips with his brothers and Lovitt. Bridge previously reported Chatfield had at times ended legislative session early in order to catch vacation flights.

Ahead of a trip to the Bahamas, Aaron and Paul Chatfield both received $5,000 checks from one of four Chatfield Majority Fund political action committees the lawmakers used to raise funds, according to records presented in court. 

Aaron testified he returned $3,500 to Lee at his brother’s instruction, while Paul testified he was instructed by Lee to give him $1,000.

On cross examination, defense attorney Mary Chartier characterized the payments to Aaron Chatfield as “delayed compensation for the hours that (he) had put in.”

Lovitt also was given a $5,000 check ahead of their trip to the Bahamas, marked as “wages,” and withdrew $4,000 in cash. He testified that he spent much of the money on himself, but several times on the trip, Lee Chatfield asked him for cash, including hundreds of dollars to tip workers and to play cards.

Assistant attorney general Chris Kessel asked Lovitt: “Did you have an understanding that some of this money (from the Chatfield Majority Fund) would be given back to Lee Chatfield?” 

Lovitt responded yes.

Defense attorneys countered by emphasizing Lovitt’s long friendship with Lee Chatfield and sought to cast the money exchange as a favor between old friends, rather than a way of concealing a payment. 

Aaron Chatfield said under cross-examination that Lee had loaned him thousands of dollars over the years. When Chartier asked him, “If you owed your brother money, and he was asking for some of it back, you don't think that's unfair, do you?” He responded, “No.”

On cross-examination, Chartier questioned whether the forensic accountant, Gallagher, knew if Chatfield was entertaining donors at Ocean Prime, a permissible expense. 

Gallagher said she did not but believed the trip was personal.

The hearing is expected to conclude Friday, when a judge could determine whether there is enough evidence for the Chatfields to face trial.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Chartier said “we are prepared to fight this tooth and nail,” and accused Nessel of “weaponizing her office.”

She said Nessel could be a potential witness at trial given she and Chatfield used the same law firm, Dykema, for compliance while Chatfield was under investigation.