LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel held a news conference Thursday morning to discuss recent charges against three people accused of fraudulently collecting and forging signatures for 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidates.
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The state of Michigan on Tuesday, June 20, filed charges against three people in connection with phony signatures collected by petition circulators working to help get a number of Republican candidates on the ballot for governor in 2022. Five Republican candidates were barred from running in the election after state officials identified tens of thousands of fake signatures submitted by their campaigns ahead of the primary.
Warren court documents show dozens of felony charges have been brought against Shawn Wilmoth, 36; Jamie Wilmoth, 36; and Willie Reed, 37; in connection with the signatures. Each of them are accused of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony charge, in addition to forgery, intent to defraud, and fraudulent access to computers.
AG Nessel is expected to provided more information about the connection the accused have with the phony signatures that caused a wave of controversy just over one year ago. The fake and fraudulent signatures caused election officials to remove Republican candidates James Craig, Perry Johnson, Michael Brown, Donna Brandenburg and Michael Markey from the gubernatorial race.
Last year, the Michigan Democratic Party said they believe a group of petition circulators hired by several Republican candidates forged the fake signatures using a process called “round-robining.” Through this process, a small group of people takes turns writing names, addresses and fake signatures on different lines on multiple petition sheets using a list of real voters, hoping the variation in handwriting makes the petition appear authentic.
Election officials said last year that they didn’t have reason to believe “any specific candidates or campaigns were aware of the activities of fraudulent petition circulators.”