A longtime donor and friend of Democrat Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer now faces no fewer than 16 felony charges related to misuse of funds.
Interestingly, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the charges, proving that even a broken clock — or a corrupt Democrat — is right twice a day. “Today, we allege Fay Beydoun sought and received a $20 million ‘Michigan enhancement grant’ from the state Legislature, operated a criminal enterprise to use those funds for personal expenses and her own enrichment, and lied repeatedly when reporting how she used those funds,” Nessel accused.
It seems as if this was a corrupt give-and-take, where Beydoun received state-approved funds after supporting Democrats in the state for years, including through $20,000+ in donations to Whitmer, according to the Daily Mail. Beydoun also hosted a fundraiser for Whitmer that garnered $13,500. As an important point, it was Whitmer who reportedly appointed Beydoun to the board that oversaw the grants, meaning Whitmer provided the opportunity for Beydoun to misuse funds, even if she wasn’t directly complicit in the crime.
Nessel explained, “The process by which this grant was proposed, developed, awarded, and administered bears practically zero semblance to the traditional grant process, and was only made possible through a system that pairs political cronyism with minimal oversight.” Her press release on May 6 stated:
[Beydoun is charged with] the alleged theft of funds and fraudulent administration of a $20 million state legislative grant awarded to Global Link International, a company created and controlled by Beydoun. Beydoun allegedly used appropriated funds for her own personal use and enrichment, repeatedly lied to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) about expenses contrary to the purpose of the grant and activities of the business accelerator, and did each of these to further a criminal enterprise for her own financial gain.
Playing up her own supposed dedication to saving taxpayers’ money, Nessel pronounced, “Since the enactment of the Global Link grant, some significant reforms have been enacted by the Legislature. These reforms are meaningful, but with millions of dollars in public funding at hand, the State and each of its agencies must do more to prevent abuses of state funds and to require responsible administration of enhancement grants — regardless of whether their recipients enjoy positions of power, privilege, and political connections.”
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The Michigan Economic Development Corporation Board was to implement the $20 million taxpayer-funded grant, but apparently, the MEDC Board received reports on $1.35 million documented as spent, of which only $20,000 actually went to the purpose described in the statutory grant language. That means Beydoun spent considerably more than a million dollars on non-approved purposes.
The Michigan GOP broke down some of the problematic expenditures in more detail:
> $4,500 for a coffee maker.
> $11,000 first-class plane ticket.
> $408,000 in salaries over 3 months for 2 people.
> $6,148 on two handmade rugs from Tunisia.
> $11,325 on a forged legal invoice.
> $40,800 check to Salhab Enterprises for “fully furnished 2 units,” yet the address led to a vacant lot.
It is not clear what happened to the rest of the $20 million. But judging by Beydoun’s predilection for handmade rugs, first-class plane trips, and fraudulent businesses that don’t exist, I’m going to guess that she misspent that money egregiously.
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