LANSING (WWJ) — Three people who were charged with the alleged signature collection fraud scheme in Michigan’s 2022 gubernatorial election have been bound over for trial.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Thursday announced Shawn Wilmoth, Jamie Wilmoth-Goodin and Willie Reed have been ordered to stand trial before Judge John Chmura in the 37th District Court.
The trio, charged last June, are accused of “conducting a criminal enterprise to defraud the gubernatorial campaigns” of former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, Perry Johnson, Donna Brandenburg, Michael Brown and Michael Malarkey.
The defendants also allegedly defrauded judicial candidates Tricia Dare, John Calahan and John Michael Malone in the 2022 election cycle.
Wilmoth and Reed are also charged with theft from the gubernatorial campaign of Ryan Kelley.
All nine of those candidates contracted — directly or through intermediary consultants — with businesses owned and operated by Wilmoth and Reed to collect the required number of signatures to appear on the August 2022 ballots.
Wilmoth, Wilmoth-Goodin and Reed are all accused of charging the campaigns $700,000 for valid signature collection but not fulfilling the contract. The defendants allegedly “knowingly delivered tens of thousands of forged signatures on nomination petitions to eight of the campaigns,” according to Nessel’s office.
Seven of the candidates allegedly provided with fraudulent signatures failed to meet the signature requirements to qualify for appearing on the ballot, one candidate withdrew without submitting signatures for review. The defendants allegedly provided the Kelley campaign with no signatures at all.
“The signatures furnished by these defendants were clear forgeries and fabrications, and the harm the victim campaigns suffered is substantial and without remedy,” Nessel said, per a press release. “This alleged criminal enterprise brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars, and those responsible face very serious charges.”
The defendants are charged as follows:
Shawn Wilmoth, owner/operator of First Choice LLC and co-owner of Mack Douglas LLC
• 1 count, Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony,
• 8 counts, Election Law Forgery, a 5-year felony,
• 3 counts, False Pretenses, $100,000 or more, a 20-year felony,
• 2 counts, False Pretenses, $50,000 or more, a 15-year felony,
• 3 counts, False Pretenses, $20,000 or more, a 15-year felony,
• 8 counts, Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, $20,000 or more, a 10-year felony,
• 1 count, Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, $1,000 or more, a 5-year felony, and
• 1 count, Larceny by Conversion, $1,000 or more, a 5-year felony.
Willie Reed, owner/operator of Petitions Reed LLC and co-owner of Mack Douglas LLC
• 1 count, Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony,
• 8 counts, Election Law Forgery, a 5-year felony,
• 3 counts, False Pretenses, $100,000 or more, a 20-year felony,
• 2 counts, False Pretenses, $50,000 or more, a 15-year felony,
• 3 counts, False Pretenses, $20,000 or more, a 15-year felony,
• 8 counts, Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, $20,000 or more, a 10-year felony,
• 1 count, Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, $1,000 or more, a 5-year felony, and
• 1 count, Larceny by Conversion, $1,000 or more, a 5-year felony.
Jamie Wilmoth-Goodin
• 1 count, Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony,
• 8 counts, Election Law Forgery, a 5-year felony,
• 3 counts, False Pretenses, $100,000 or more, a 20-year felony,
• 2 counts, False Pretenses, $50,000 or more, a 15-year felony,
• 3 counts, False Pretenses, $20,000 or more, a 15-year felony, and
• 8 counts, Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, $20,000 or more, a 10-year felony.
The alleged forgeries were “quickly detected” by the Michigan Bureau of Elections, within the Department of State, which determined the seven campaigns of Johnson, Craig, Brandenburg, Brown, Markey, Dare, and Malone had not met the qualifications to appear on the 2022 primary ballot.
The Department of State then referred the case to Nessel’s office in June of 2022.
Subsequently announced tax-related charges against Shawn Wilmoth appear before the Court on a separate docket and were not considered at Thursday’s preliminary examination, Nessel’s office said.