EAST LANSING — Former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield appeared in court Wednesday on charges of embezzling public funds and conducting a criminal enterprise.
The Northern Michigan Republican was accused last year of misusing taxpayer dollars and campaign funds for personal gain, including paying off credit card balances, filing false mileage reports and funding vacations for family and political allies.
Chatfield has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
Wednesday’s witnesses included the record keeper of Chatfield’s political nonprofit and two state investigators who assisted in the case against chatfield.
Renae Moore, who helped in the creation and bookkeeping of Chatfield’s Peninsula Fund, says that she viewed “questionable” transactions that appeared to fall outside of the fund’s purpose.
Moore says that Chatfield requested reimbursement for purchases made at a strip club, which fell outside of the nonprofit’s purpose.
Chatfield served in the state House from 2015 through 2020, and was elected Speaker of the House in his final term. He left office in 2021 due to term limits.
His wife, Stephanie Chatfield, was also charged with embezzlement, and she too has pleaded not guilty.
The couple has yet to go to trial — Wednesday’s hearing was a part of their preliminary exam, in which the state must prove that it’s more likely than not that a felony has been committed.
It will fall on the judge later this week to decide if the case will move forward.