Former Chatfield (R) aides bound over for trial on embezzlement, other charges
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).
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.
https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/former-chatfield-aides-bound-over-for-trial-on-embezzlement-other-charges/