Former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R) is reportedly facing a sprawling investigation for an alleged “criminal enterprise.”
The investigation was opened in January and involves alleged embezzlement, campaign finance violations, bribery, tax evasion, misconduct in office, and possession of controlled substances, according to affidavits obtained by Detroit News. Chatfield has denied the allegations.
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“It is alleged that Chatfield, along with others engaged in a criminal enterprise, which included embezzlement, campaign finance violations, bribery, the use, possession and delivery of controlled substances, misconduct in office, and income tax evasion,” stated an affidavit dated April 6, according to the Detroit News.
So far, no criminal charges have been issued in the matter. Chatfield served in Michigan’s legislature from 2015 until early 2021. He served as speaker during the last two years of his time in the legislature. His lawyer has dismissed the allegations against him.
“Affidavits can be based on rumors, speculation, and outright falsehoods told to the police,” Lee Chatfield’s attorney, Mary Chartier, told the Washington Examiner. “Mr. Chatfield is confident that an independent and objective view of the evidence will show that he has committed no crime.”
Chatfield’s brother, Aaron, told investigators that he got money from Lee Chatfield’s political operations despite not doing “any work” for him, one affidavit claimed, per the report. One of the affidavits also reportedly accused Aaron Chatfield of distributing the prescription drug Adderall to two lobbyists “20 to 30 times.”
The wife of Aaron Chatfield, Rebekah Chatfield, previously accused the former speaker of sexually abusing her. He has denied the allegation and maintained that he had a consensual affair with her. Authorities began examining Lee Chatfield’s alleged criminal conduct shortly after Rebekah Chatfield went public with the allegations against him in January.
Rebekah Chatfield’s lawyer insists she has been cooperating with investigators and provided information to authorities. She reportedly told authorities that she and her husband would get checks from a political consultant for Lee Chatfield.
“The cashed checks coincided with trips Chatfield took with Aaron Chatfield, and others, to Detroit, Miami, Las Vegas, Aspen or the Bahamas,” one of the affidavits explained, per the report. “Rebekah Chatfield believed the money was used by (Lee) Chatfield to pay for hotel rooms, travel, prostitutes, and controlled substances.”
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A previous analysis by Detroit News concluded that accounts linked to Lee Chatfield funneled some $900,000 in political and other funding toward family members and staffers.
