White Collar Crime Includes Election Fraud

Notwithstanding the fact that White Collar Crime includes election fraud, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has stated it is unlikely that fromer Rep. Thaddeus McCotter will face criminal charges after it was discovered that four of his former staff members allegedly faked ballot petition signatures. Unfortunately for the staffers, they are not quite as lucky. Attorney General Schuette apparently did not have enough evidence to link McCotter to the fraud scheme, but his four staffers are currently being accused of crimes including forgery and conspiracy. All four currently have pending criminal charges against them in several different courts.

In May, McCotter signed an affidavit attesting to 2,000 signatures on his nominating petition. The amount was twice as many as was required. As it turned out, 80% of the signatures were allegedly fake or duplicates. Michigan’s Secretary of State spokesman said that between 200-300 of the signatures actually appeared to be valid. Unlike several states, Michigan does not require a congressional candidate to attest to the validity of the signatures, only the number. Thus, McCotter will likely avoid any future charges because he the amount of signatures was correct even though he was asleep at the wheel when it came to verifying if the signatures were real. The Michigan law essentially allows politicians like McCotter to plead ignorance while staffers take the fall for the crimes.

After the scandal was discovered, McCotter resigned from his position as representative of Michigan’s 11^th District. He had held the seat for the past five terms. Two of McCotter’s staffers are facing more than ten charges a piece for their roles in the scandal. If convicted of the most serious charges of conspiracy and election Detroit criminal defense attorney , they face five years in jail.

With the national elections around the corner, and the integrity of the democratic process at stake, expect state and federal election monitors to be working overtime to expose white collar crime, including fraud and corruption in the election process. Here in Michigan, if you or someone you love is under investigation by state or federal law enforcement, it is vital they obtain the assistance of an experienced Detroit criminal defense attorney right away.