Three people have been bound over to stand trial on felony charges alleging they defrauded the campaigns of several candidates for Michigan governor in the 2022 election cycle.
Shawn Wilmoth, Jamie Wilmoth-Goodin, and Willie Reed were charged in June 2023. On Thursday, after a preliminary examination in the state's 37th District Court in Warren, a judge found there is sufficient evidence for the three to face trial on the charges.
The state attorney general's office says the defendants charged the gubernatorial campaigns hundreds of thousands of dollars to collect valid nominating signatures to get the candidates on the ballot. Then, prosecutors say, the defendants knowingly delivered tens of thousands of fraudulent signatures.
Five of the gubernatorial candidates were then unable to appear on the ballot because they didn't have enough valid signatures.
Michigan Public was unable to reach attorneys for the defendants. Their attorneys told other news outlets that they declined comment.
The most serious charges against the defendants could carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.
