In August 2022, Reuters reported that presumptive Republican nominee Matthew DePerno "led a team that gained unauthorized access to voting equipment while hunting for evidence to support former President Donald Trump's false election-fraud claims" following the 2020 election. from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, and an LL.M. DePerno is best known for defending former state Rep. Todd Courser after a 2015 sex scandal cover up and challenging Antrim County election results in a failed lawsuit that spawned ongoing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Lansing Republican Matt DePerno's embrace of former President Donald Trump's unproven election fraud claims moved the Kalamazoo trial lawyer from political obscurity to the front lines. Forton said his decision was meant to ensure that a "grassroots-type" hopeful had a chance to win. Kristina Karamo (Secretary of State) - $796,022. He has been defending America's constitutional civil liberties for over 25 years. Will you please support our nonprofit newsroom? Two attorneys quit, saying they could not represent DePerno without violating the canons of ethics. So DePerno represented himself, an unorthodox move the liability insurer asked a court to stop before also agreeing to a settlement with DePerno. In 2016, Buhl filed a request asking the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission to investigate DePerno after he was accused of legal malpractice. Matt DePerno: Liar, Liar Pants on Fire From Plan B to the 2020 Elections, DePerno continues to lie his way through this election LANSING The Michigan Democratic Party today denounced statements made by GOP attorney general candidate Matt DePerno regarding his alleged involvement in a plot to illegally access voting tabulation machines. That happens all the time, and then things are resolved.. You can also contact us by using this form: First Name. More:As Michigan AG race narrows, Nessel's comments, cases take center stage. DePerno was fired from one law firm, fought over client records after leaving a second firm and was accused of assaulting a client amid a fee dispute, according to court documents and transcripts reviewed by Bridge. Buhl, the retired judge who had prepared to serve as an expert witness for the Moffits legal defense team, asked the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission to investigate DePerno in 2016. Connors agreed on July 2. DePerno, who had worked with the Moffits on tax issues in the past, allegedly convinced the couple he could negotiate with the IRS. Maddock and Weiser had formed a tenuous alliance leading Michigan Republicans for the last two years. Two years into what had become a vicious legal fight, DePerno allegedly pressured the Moffits to sign a fee agreement that put their property mortgages up as collateral in the event they could not pay DePernos legal bills, which Buhl described as an unorthodox deal the kind of which he had never seen before. In at least one instance, DePerno admitted that he falsified billing to a clients account, the law firms attorney said in a court filing. Natalie DePerno, 23, graduated with an accounting degree from MSU. See also: Michigan Attorney General election, 2022 Weve been there for you with daily Michigan COVID-19 news; reporting on the emergence of the virus, daily numbers with our tracker and dashboard, exploding unemployment, and we finally were able to report on mass vaccine distribution. Regardless, voters should trust him to run the states largest and most powerful law firm the attorney generals office because he is a fighter, DePerno said. In an August interview, DePerno declined to say whether the money helped fund a group of "expert witnesses" who pushed to obtain and analyze voting tabulators in Michigan. Karamo, who lost by 14 points to Democratic incumbent Jocelyn Benson in November, made the pitch to delegates that her refusal to concede was an asset. One of DePerno's Republican convention opponents in the spring, Leonard, called on DePerno to detail what happened with the money in March. The COVID-19 pandemic hit Michigan weeks after the DePerno bench warrant was signed. While the case was ultimately settled, what he saw in pre-trial hearings was abhorrent, Buhl told Bridge Michigan. Another factor in his decision to run: Trump, who in July encouraged him to enter the race. from New York University School of Law. "I've been doing this for 25 years," DePerno said of his legal background. Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. 2023 The Detroit News, a Digital First Media Newspaper, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, DePerno rose to political prominence challenging the 2020 presidential election results, sought a special prosecutor to consider charges against DePerno. 2023 Bridge Michigan. But court records show law firm colleagues confronted DePerno in October 2005 and presented him with evidence detailed in a confidential memo included in public filings, along with 190 pages of internal billing documents. He also has a big fan inside the Michigan Republican Party: co-chair Meshawn Maddock, who endorsed him earlier this month, an unusual move considering the party traditionally is expected to stay out of contested convention races. DePerno and Karamo were viewed as the favorites because they have been working with delegates for more than a year as it was the delegates who nominated them for attorney general and secretary of state last year. Ive taken on cases that people even in the media have disagreed with.. A lawyer by trade, DePerno rose to political prominence challenging the 2020 presidential election results and spearheading a lawsuit over the vote in northern Michigan's Antrim County. Matthew DePerno for Attorney General Home About Platform Volunteer State Convention Delegate DONATE 517-618-9655 Team@Depernoformi.com 3105 S Martin Luther King Blvd #104 Lansing, MI 48910 Matt's Plan To Fix the Michigan GOP FILL EVERY PRECINCT DELEGATE SLOT In April, we the people pulled off a HUGE win. Karamo had 58% of the vote on the . to willful neglect of duty by a public officer. (FOX 2) - Republican Matthew DePerno has conceded the race for attorney general to Dana Nessel, releasing a statement thanking voters for showing up for the candidate. Matthew DePerno: Trump-backed GOP candidate for Michigan AG under - CNN And in early 2022, state Rep. Ryan Berman of Commerce Township, who previously ran for attorney general as a Republican against DePerno, said DePerno's "skeletons have skeletons. Matthew DePerno for Michigan (@deperno4mi) / Twitter "The Washtenaw County Sheriff Department said they thought the bench warrant was so outrageous that they did not consider it enforceable," Shepard said. We report because the news impacts all of us. Gaining unauthorized access to voting machines is a felony in Michigan. The Antrim County case made DePerno a national figure in Trumps campaign to overturn the election but prompted criticism from a Republican-led Michigan Senate panel that accused him ofmaking false claimsfor personal profit, echoing allegations that marred DePernos legal career nearly two decades earlier. While the Kries Enderle law firm and DePerno both declined to discuss his contentious departure given their confidential settlement agreement, DePerno downplayed the acrimonious split in general terms. Some Republicans voiced frustration and uncertainty about the partys direction Saturday. The Antrim County case made DePerno a national figure in Trumps campaign to overturn the election but prompted criticism from a Republican-led Michigan Senate panel that accused him of making false claims for personal profit, echoing allegations that marred DePernos legal career nearly two decades earlier. Michiganders deserve more from their elected officials, and as American Citizens, our constitutional right to ensure fair, free, and secure elections. If a person does not appear and the bench warrant is issued, that means should that person be stopped while driving or anything like that, it will show up on the polices system," Dallo said of what would lead to an arrest. They dont make guys like him anymore. But he told Bridge he cannot discuss details because of a confidential settlement. Baker didn't respond to a request for comment. In his original complaint, DePerno alleged he was wrongfully fired from his $110,000 job because he had raised questions about the financial operations of the firm. Matt DePerno, a Republican candidate for Michigan attorney general, has appeared at Capitol rallies calling for a "forensic audit" of the 2020 presidential election. The Michigan Court of Appeals ultimately upheld the decision to allow Dodge to remain a judge. I've always proven that I don't back down from anyone, he said. ", In an Oct. 1 interview, DePerno said if he's elected, he'll work to lower Michigan's crime rate and combat sex trafficking. She previously worked as an assistant prosecutor in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. Critics of Karamo questioned her ability to unite the party, raise money and her history of spreading unfounded conspiracy theories involving elections, porn and yoga. DePerno, speaking with Bridge, called the assault allegation an outrageous attempt by the Moffits to avoid paying their legal bills. John Engler. The ProAssurance Casualty Company alleged DePerno made unreasonable demands of attorneys they had hired to represent him in the Moffits malpractice suit. "Mr. DePerno has received calls from the sheriff's deputy that's going to come and try to execute writs of execution, I guess, on his office furniture and supplies," Baker said during a Jan. 16, 2020, court hearing. The Moffits never filed a criminal complaint. Matthew DePerno: What to know about Michigan GOP attorney general candidate. Matthew DePerno for Attorney General All (DePerno) was interested in was generating fees for himself and protecting his way to collect it, Buhl said. Especially if the Judge has expressed a dislike for rapists., Kent County Circuit Court Judge Donald A. Johnston, who presided over the disqualification hearing, denied DePernos request to remove Dodge, and noted that, I dont know of any judges that have ever expressed a like for rapists.. Matt DePerno concedes Michigan AG race to Dana Nessel Published November 9, 2022 2022 Midterm Elections FOX 2 Detroit Whitmer's victory speech: Michigan is about to 'step on the. Thanks for submitting! They advanced to a second round before Karamo beat DePerno in the third and final vote. Ive always proven that I dont back down from anyone, he said. People get into disputes and they say things about each other in litigation, he told Bridge in a phone interview. Those allegations, contained in never-before-reported documents out of Kalamazoo County Circuit Court, were only made public because DePerno sued the firm in an attempt to cash out his shares and transfer the lease on a company vehicle that was repossessed after his firing. As DePerno worked on the 2020 election, his law office's website linked to a fundraising page that brought in nearly $400,000. Greenlee, who's worked in politics for more than three decades, appeared to be gaining some level of support on Saturday. While Nessel might be vulnerable, there remain questions two weeks before Election Day over whether DePerno was the right person to beat her and become the state's top law enforcement official. The settlement was complicated by another lawsuit from DePernos professional liability insurer, who sued him in an attempt to drop him and cancel his policy. The contraceptive prevents ovulation and does not induce an abortion. On his website he states he would declare critical race theory unconstitutional, calling it a Marxist agenda.. The warrant was in place as DePerno led high-profile litigation in the weeks after the November 2020 presidential election to challenge the results in northern Michigan's Antrim County. If Matthew DePerno wins his race to unseat Michigan's Democratic attorney general in November, he'll become the state's top lawyer. In Ingham County, a judge overseeing Todd Coursers criminal case announced he might retire before his term ended because the headache of dealing with DePerno and the other attorneys started to "eat away" at him. Matthew DePerno, the Republican nominee for attorney general in Michigan who has made a name for himself by pushing lies about the 2020 election and by becoming the target of an investigation into whether he illegally tampered with voting machines is spending the final stretch of his campaign spouting new falsehoods about supposed election crimes. He has a wife and three children. DePerno, 53, is a Portage-based attorney who primarily works on tax cases and worked primarily in Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties. DePerno denied many of the accusations but eventually negotiated a settlement with the Moffits, whose attorney declined to discuss terms of the deal. George Dernis, who DePerno has represented in a nearly eight-year legal battle over foreclosure of Michigan properties he'd used as collateral to purchase a grocery store, said DePerno helped guide his family through "hell and back. DePerno took on "several cases regarding the unconstitutional nature of these lockdowns and mandates.". A year later, with the fire reimbursement case seemingly resolved, DePerno presented the Moffits with a $109,879 check from their insurer $13,421 less than the original payment offered three years prior and a $137,779.38 bill for his legal services, according to the malpractice lawsuit. During her remarks on Saturday, Karamo said she refused to concede her 615,000-vote loss to Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson because the election was a "fraudulent process." Samantha DePerno, 19, began her sophomore year at MSU this past Fall, 2021. Former state Rep. Aaron Miller, a Republican from Sturgis, said Karamo's victory indicated some Michigan Republicans want to keep losing elections. Thank goodness that most of my cases were nothing like this one.. Tyson Shepard, DePerno's campaign manager, said the candidate would enforce the state's 1931 abortion ban, which prohibits the termination of any pregnancy except if necessary to preserve the life of the mother because it's the policy on the books. In a Feb. 26, 2020, filing in the Court of Appeals, DePerno addressed the warrants facing him and his client. Asked about that, Castiglia countered that people "are getting sick of the doomsday Dem approach. In August, Nessel sought a special prosecutor to consider charges against DePerno and eight others over an alleged conspiracy to gain improper access to voting machines. Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. "We need somebody who will go in there and stand up for the little guy," Carra said. Karamo defeated unsuccessful GOP attorney general candidate Matt DePerno of Kalamazoo, a fellow election denier who was endorsed in the party chair race by Trump. DePerno wasn't paying attention in first grade when he was told how to behave himself, Magistrate Joseph Scoville said in announcing the sanctions at a May 2012 hearing, according to a transcript reviewed by Bridge. Confused, concerned and ultimately outraged that DePerno was charging them nearly $140,000 after losing them $13,000, Ronald Moffit said he confronted DePerno over the legal bill, which led to what the couples attorney would later call battery and assault by DePerno. Rigas described DePerno as the person who can unite the party. The newspaper donated the attorney fees it recovered from DePerno to the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation. He picked the fight and then billed them $130,000. DePerno was fired from one law firm, fought over client records after leaving a second firm and was accused of assaulting a client amid a fee dispute, according to court documents and transcripts reviewed by Bridge. Hilson, a Democrat who was named the special prosecutor in September, continues to review the case. He was fired from one law firm, fought over client records after leaving a second firm and was accused of assaulting a client amid a fee dispute, according to court documents and transcripts reviewed by Bridge Michigan, DePerno is one of nine people who were investigated by Nessel's office for an. Login. Civil rights issues are a main focus of Nessel's, and she founded the Fair Michigan Foundation. Michigans nonpartisan, nonprofit news source. Exclusive: Trump-backed Michigan attorney general candidate - Reuters Instead, DePerno filed a counter-claim against the insurance company without the knowledge or consent of his clients, which prompted the insurer to stop its initial payment. DePerno called Buhls accusations total nonsense and told Bridge the matter was ultimately dismissed by the grievance commission, as it should be., While Buhl said the professional code of conduct for attorneys prohibits him from revealing results of the grievance commission investigation, he called DePernos characterization of dismissal the farthest thing from the truth.. Instead, the Oversight Committee urged Nesselto investigate those who have been utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends.. Michigan attorney general says FBI confirmed she was target of plot to Dodge has since retired and told Bridge Michigan he did not remember the dispute well. People have to see something worth investing in," she said, "and the party hasnt proven itself to be such.. Lansing Matt DePerno, who lost his bid for attorney general but has been a favorite of former President Donald Trump, announced Monday that he wants to be the Michigan Republican Party's . Karamo, considered a favorite among the party's grassroots but viewed as divisive among the establishment, beat out former attorney general candidate Matt DePerno, 58% to 42%, in the third round of voting. As he's campaigned for attorney general, DePerno vowed to "investigate and prosecute Gov. Conservative lawyer David Kallman, whose office is based in Lansing, said DePerno has done things he doesn't agree with. I've taken on tough cases. Courser, who was accused of using House staff and resources to help cover up an extra-marital affair, ultimately pleaded no contest to a charge of willful neglect of duty by a public officer, a one-year misdemeanor. I will issue bench warrants.". He went on to repeatedly appear in Antrim County court to challenge the November 2020 election results while the warrant was in place. Consumers Energy, Manchester Market partner for free community breakfast, Career partnerships expand within Manchester school district, Dance Masters of Michigan attend solo title event competition, Village establishes change of use ordinance, Environmental incentives to conservation easements: Residents learn about land management & preservation, reflecting the community of Manchester since 2013. Matthew DePerno is an attorney who serves clients worldwide from his office in Kalamazoo Michigan, USA. Another factor in his decision to run: Trump, who in July encouraged him to enter the race. Matthew DePerno: What to know about Michigan GOP attorney general