In a rare flash of good sense, Attorney General Dana Nessel pointed out that the state’s corporate welfare agency and distributor of political paybacks, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, has too little oversight and might not be deserving of the public trust.
As reported by The Midwesterner:
The controversy centers on a $20 million grant awarded in 2022 to Global Link International, a nonprofit created by Fay Beydoun, who at the time was a member of MEDC’s executive committee. The nonprofit was formed shortly before receiving the grant. Following public scrutiny, the MEDC canceled the grant earlier this year.
Questions arose over how the money was spent. Investigations revealed that Beydoun used grant funds for extravagant expenses, including a $4,500 coffeemaker, an $11,000 first-class plane ticket, and paid herself a reported $550,000 annual salary. These revelations fueled demands for a thorough investigation and led to a raid of MEDC offices and Beydoun’s home earlier this summer as part of a criminal probe. […]
[Nessel] also highlighted conflicts of interest within MEDC, where some board members have received grants from the agency they oversee. Furthermore, Nessel criticized MEDC for obstructing her office’s investigation. “MEDC stonewalled our investigation into the misappropriation of this money for over a year,” she said, adding the agency is “now in court trying to block us from a valid search warrant.”
The Attorney General’s strong language marks a departure from many of her Democratic colleagues, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer and MEDC officials, who have largely focused on promises of reform, distancing themselves from individual misconduct rather than calling for immediate funding freezes.
