Michigan
Two men convicted in 2022 signature collection election fraud scheme
On Monday, defendants Shawn Wilmoth, of Warren, and Willie Reed, of Pompano Beach, Florida, were convicted by a Macomb County jury of conducting a criminal enterprise to defraud the gubernatorial campaigns of Ryan Kelley, Perry Johnson, James Craig, Donna Brandenburg, Michael Brown, and Michael Markey, as well as judicial candidates Tricia Dare, John Cahalan, and John Michael Malone in the 2022 election cycle, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The candidates contracted, directly or through intermediary consultants, with businesses owned and operated by Shawn Wilmoth and Willie Reed for the fulfillment of their nomination signature requirements to appear on the August 2022 primary ballots. The defendants charged the campaigns over $700,000 for valid signature collection, then knowingly delivered tens of thousands of forged signatures on nomination petitions to eight of the campaigns. Seven of the candidates provided with fraudulent signatures failed to meet the signature requirements to qualify for appearing on the ballot, one candidate withdrew without submitting signatures for review. The defendants provided the Kelley campaign with no signatures at all.
“The fraud perpetrated by the defendants robbed eight candidates of their chance to appear on the ballot, defrauded their campaigns and denied millions of Michiganders a choice in the 2022 gubernatorial election,” said Nessel.
The forgeries were quickly detected by the Michigan Bureau of Elections, within the Department of State, which determined the seven campaigns of Johnson, Craig, Brandenburg, Brown, Markey, Dare, and Malone had not met the qualifications to appear on the 2022 primary ballot. The Department of State then referred the matter to the Department of Attorney General for investigation in June of 2022. Attorney General Nessel charged the defendants in September 2023.
Jamie Wilmoth-Goodin, of Warren, was found not guilty.
The defendants will be sentenced by Judge James Maceroni in the 16th Circuit Court in Macomb County on March 18.
Michigan
Man sentenced for sexually assaulting pre-teen girls
On Monday, Anthony Cuyler, 47, a Branch County resident extradited from Mexico in April 2024, was sentenced to 45-90 years’ incarceration by visiting Judge David Buter of the 15th Circuit Court in Branch County for sexually assaulting two minor children, girls aged 11 and 12 years old, and for providing them with methamphetamine, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Cuyler was convicted by a Branch County jury of three counts of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and one count of Delivery of Methamphetamine to a Minor in January. Cuyler was charged by the Branch County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in 2019.
Cuyler fled and eluded authorities for years before being located in Mexico and returned to Branch County. The extradition of Cuyler from Mexico was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service as part of Operation Survivor Justice. The Operation is a partnership between the Michigan Department of Attorney General, local county prosecutors, and the U.S. Marshals Service to locate, apprehend, and return to Michigan fugitive offenders with outstanding sexual assault warrants.
“Cold case sexual assaults are among the most challenging to prosecute,” said Nessel at the time Cuyler was convicted. “I commend the victims, prosecutors from my office, and our Operation Survivor Justice partners – including the U.S. Marshals Service, for locating, apprehending, and extraditing Mr. Cuyler to face these charges and Branch County Prosecuting Attorney Stempien for his efforts that led to a significant conviction in this heinous case.”
The Department of Attorney General led the prosecution of this case.
Michigan
Three men headed for trial on charge of conducting a criminal enterprise
Leondre Jones, 22 of Detroit, was bound over on serious charges stemming from an alleged series of vehicle thefts across Oakland, Macomb and Wayne Counties, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido. Two other men, Lemuel Watley-Neeley, 25, and Jayvon Williams, 33, both of Detroit, waived their right to a Preliminary Exam and will also be facing trial in the Macomb County Circuit Court.
It is alleged that Jones, Watley-Neeley and Williams engaged in racketeering for profit through multiple vehicle thefts.
All three men are charged with Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, which is a 20-year felony. Jones is also charged with a Habitual Offender, Fourth Offense Notice, which could subject him to life in prison.
On February 5 and 6, 2026, a Preliminary Exam was held for Jones before Judge Michael Chupa in the 37th District Court in Warren, MI. At the end of the hearing, Judge Chupa ruled that sufficient evidence exists to bind Jones over for trial.
Jones, Watley-Neeley and Williams will be arraigned before Judge James M. Biernat, Jr. at the Macomb County Circuit Court on Monday, February 23, 2026, at 1:30 p.m.
Michigan
Man pleads no contest to charges related to alleged threats against district judge
Cole Daniel Rapp, 28, of New York City pled no contest to charges related to alleged threats concerning Romeo District Court Judge Jennifer Andary, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.
On Thursday, February 5, 2026, Rapp appeared before Judge William H. Hackel, III in the 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore, MI. Rapp pleaded No Contest to two counts: Attempt Unlawful Posting of a Message, a 1-year misdemeanor; Attempt Telecommunications Services, Malicious Use, 3-month misdemeanor
Rapp was sentenced to probation. He was ordered to have no direct or indirect contact with Judge Andary. Judge Hackel also ordered Rapp to have no communication about her at all.
It is alleged that on or about Sunday, September 14, 2025, Rapp posted an image on Facebook depicting Judge Andary in a coffin with the caption, “Pray about this.” The same image was reportedly used as both his profile picture and background. Another post allegedly contained a video of a pot being stirred, accompanied by music with lyrics stating, “Judge in this town has bloodstains on his hands.”
“Threats against judges undermine the rule of law and put public servants, court staff, and the community at risk. Such statements are taken seriously, because our justice system depends on respect for the independence and safety of the courts,” said Lucido.
Michigan
Jury convicts man of killing girlfriend, mother of his child
Last week, a jury convicted Jaion Barnes, a 25-year-old man from Clinton Township, on all charged counts, including Second-Degree Murder, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido. The woman he killed, Tianna Ross, was his girlfriend and the mother of his child.
On February 5, 2026, after a six-day jury trial before Circuit Court Judge Matthew P. Sabaugh, a Macomb County jury convicted Barnes on all charges. Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Elizabeth Abbo and Carrie Seward prosecuted the case on behalf of The People.
Barnes also has a Habitual Offender – Fourth Offense Notice, which requires a mandatory 25-year sentence.
On January 15, 2024, 23-year-old Tianna Ross arrived at Barnes’s residence to deliver their child to him. He shot her multiple times and fled. He later turned himself in to the authorities.
Barnes remains in custody at the Macomb County Jail. He faces sentencing before Judge Sabaugh on Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 9:00 am.
California
Man sentenced to 4 years for acting as Beijing’s agent while working for local politician
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California man has been sentenced to four years in prison for acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government while working as a campaign adviser for a local politician.
Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, was sentenced Monday in federal court in Los Angeles after pleading guilty last year in a deal with prosecutors. Under the agreement, Sun acknowledged acting as a foreign agent on behalf of the People’s Republic of China from 2022 to 2024 without notifying the U.S. attorney general as required by law.
“When Americans vote for elected officials, they expect them to represent the interests of their constituents – not those of a foreign adversary like the Chinese government,” Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence and espionage division, said in a statement. Federal prosecutors had asked for a five-year sentence for Sun.
A message was sent to Sun’s lawyer, Adam Olin. In court papers, Olin asked for Sun to be sentenced to time served after spending more than a year in custody, contending his client lived a law-abiding life in the United States since moving from China in 1996.
“Mr. Sun’s conduct was not independently illegal and could have been performed consistent with the law had he only registered with the Attorney General — an obligation he did not know existed,” Olin wrote.
The case against Sun was filed during President Joe Biden’s administration amid a time of rising concern that the Chinese government had cultivated a network of operatives to influence local elections in the U.S. to install politicians who were friendly to Beijing and could help promote Chinese interests.
According to the plea deal, Sun received instructions from Chinese government officials to post pro-Beijing content on a website he ran with another individual who became a candidate for local office and won election in 2022. Sun worked as a campaign adviser for the individual and the following year drafted a report for Chinese officials seeking funding and assignments for more pro-Beijing activities, according to the agreement.
While the individual was not named in court papers, Sun was listed as a campaign treasurer for Arcadia City Council candidate Eileen Wang on a 2022 campaign statement filing.
Wang earlier this month was sworn in as mayor of Arcadia, a city of nearly 60,000 people northeast of Los Angeles that has a sizable Asian population.
Two men convicted in 2022 signature collection election fraud scheme
On Monday, defendants Shawn Wilmoth, of Warren, and Willie Reed, of Pompano Beach, Florida, were convicted by a Macomb County jury of conducting a criminal enterprise to defraud the gubernatorial campaigns of Ryan Kelley, Perry Johnson, James Craig, Donna Brandenburg, Michael Brown, and Michael Markey, as well as judicial candidates Tricia Dare, John Cahalan, and John Michael Malone in the 2022 election cycle, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The candidates contracted, directly or through intermediary consultants, with businesses owned and operated by Shawn Wilmoth and Willie Reed for the fulfillment of their nomination signature requirements to appear on the August 2022 primary ballots. The defendants charged the campaigns over $700,000 for valid signature collection, then knowingly delivered tens of thousands of forged signatures on nomination petitions to eight of the campaigns. Seven of the candidates provided with fraudulent signatures failed to meet the signature requirements to qualify for appearing on the ballot, one candidate withdrew without submitting signatures for review. The defendants provided the Kelley campaign with no signatures at all.
“The fraud perpetrated by the defendants robbed eight candidates of their chance to appear on the ballot, defrauded their campaigns and denied millions of Michiganders a choice in the 2022 gubernatorial election,” said Nessel.
The forgeries were quickly detected by the Michigan Bureau of Elections, within the Department of State, which determined the seven campaigns of Johnson, Craig, Brandenburg, Brown, Markey, Dare, and Malone had not met the qualifications to appear on the 2022 primary ballot. The Department of State then referred the matter to the Department of Attorney General for investigation in June of 2022. Attorney General Nessel charged the defendants in September 2023.
Jamie Wilmoth-Goodin, of Warren, was found not guilty.
The defendants will be sentenced by Judge James Maceroni in the 16th Circuit Court in Macomb County on March 18.
Michigan
Man sentenced for sexually assaulting pre-teen girls
On Monday, Anthony Cuyler, 47, a Branch County resident extradited from Mexico in April 2024, was sentenced to 45-90 years’ incarceration by visiting Judge David Buter of the 15th Circuit Court in Branch County for sexually assaulting two minor children, girls aged 11 and 12 years old, and for providing them with methamphetamine, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Cuyler was convicted by a Branch County jury of three counts of First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and one count of Delivery of Methamphetamine to a Minor in January. Cuyler was charged by the Branch County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in 2019.
Cuyler fled and eluded authorities for years before being located in Mexico and returned to Branch County. The extradition of Cuyler from Mexico was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service as part of Operation Survivor Justice. The Operation is a partnership between the Michigan Department of Attorney General, local county prosecutors, and the U.S. Marshals Service to locate, apprehend, and return to Michigan fugitive offenders with outstanding sexual assault warrants.
“Cold case sexual assaults are among the most challenging to prosecute,” said Nessel at the time Cuyler was convicted. “I commend the victims, prosecutors from my office, and our Operation Survivor Justice partners – including the U.S. Marshals Service, for locating, apprehending, and extraditing Mr. Cuyler to face these charges and Branch County Prosecuting Attorney Stempien for his efforts that led to a significant conviction in this heinous case.”
The Department of Attorney General led the prosecution of this case.
Michigan
Three men headed for trial on charge of conducting a criminal enterprise
Leondre Jones, 22 of Detroit, was bound over on serious charges stemming from an alleged series of vehicle thefts across Oakland, Macomb and Wayne Counties, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido. Two other men, Lemuel Watley-Neeley, 25, and Jayvon Williams, 33, both of Detroit, waived their right to a Preliminary Exam and will also be facing trial in the Macomb County Circuit Court.
It is alleged that Jones, Watley-Neeley and Williams engaged in racketeering for profit through multiple vehicle thefts.
All three men are charged with Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, which is a 20-year felony. Jones is also charged with a Habitual Offender, Fourth Offense Notice, which could subject him to life in prison.
On February 5 and 6, 2026, a Preliminary Exam was held for Jones before Judge Michael Chupa in the 37th District Court in Warren, MI. At the end of the hearing, Judge Chupa ruled that sufficient evidence exists to bind Jones over for trial.
Jones, Watley-Neeley and Williams will be arraigned before Judge James M. Biernat, Jr. at the Macomb County Circuit Court on Monday, February 23, 2026, at 1:30 p.m.
Michigan
Man pleads no contest to charges related to alleged threats against district judge
Cole Daniel Rapp, 28, of New York City pled no contest to charges related to alleged threats concerning Romeo District Court Judge Jennifer Andary, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.
On Thursday, February 5, 2026, Rapp appeared before Judge William H. Hackel, III in the 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore, MI. Rapp pleaded No Contest to two counts: Attempt Unlawful Posting of a Message, a 1-year misdemeanor; Attempt Telecommunications Services, Malicious Use, 3-month misdemeanor
Rapp was sentenced to probation. He was ordered to have no direct or indirect contact with Judge Andary. Judge Hackel also ordered Rapp to have no communication about her at all.
It is alleged that on or about Sunday, September 14, 2025, Rapp posted an image on Facebook depicting Judge Andary in a coffin with the caption, “Pray about this.” The same image was reportedly used as both his profile picture and background. Another post allegedly contained a video of a pot being stirred, accompanied by music with lyrics stating, “Judge in this town has bloodstains on his hands.”
“Threats against judges undermine the rule of law and put public servants, court staff, and the community at risk. Such statements are taken seriously, because our justice system depends on respect for the independence and safety of the courts,” said Lucido.
Michigan
Jury convicts man of killing girlfriend, mother of his child
Last week, a jury convicted Jaion Barnes, a 25-year-old man from Clinton Township, on all charged counts, including Second-Degree Murder, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido. The woman he killed, Tianna Ross, was his girlfriend and the mother of his child.
On February 5, 2026, after a six-day jury trial before Circuit Court Judge Matthew P. Sabaugh, a Macomb County jury convicted Barnes on all charges. Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Elizabeth Abbo and Carrie Seward prosecuted the case on behalf of The People.
Barnes also has a Habitual Offender – Fourth Offense Notice, which requires a mandatory 25-year sentence.
On January 15, 2024, 23-year-old Tianna Ross arrived at Barnes’s residence to deliver their child to him. He shot her multiple times and fled. He later turned himself in to the authorities.
Barnes remains in custody at the Macomb County Jail. He faces sentencing before Judge Sabaugh on Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 9:00 am.
California
Man sentenced to 4 years for acting as Beijing’s agent while working for local politician
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California man has been sentenced to four years in prison for acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government while working as a campaign adviser for a local politician.
Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, was sentenced Monday in federal court in Los Angeles after pleading guilty last year in a deal with prosecutors. Under the agreement, Sun acknowledged acting as a foreign agent on behalf of the People’s Republic of China from 2022 to 2024 without notifying the U.S. attorney general as required by law.
“When Americans vote for elected officials, they expect them to represent the interests of their constituents – not those of a foreign adversary like the Chinese government,” Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence and espionage division, said in a statement. Federal prosecutors had asked for a five-year sentence for Sun.
A message was sent to Sun’s lawyer, Adam Olin. In court papers, Olin asked for Sun to be sentenced to time served after spending more than a year in custody, contending his client lived a law-abiding life in the United States since moving from China in 1996.
“Mr. Sun’s conduct was not independently illegal and could have been performed consistent with the law had he only registered with the Attorney General — an obligation he did not know existed,” Olin wrote.
The case against Sun was filed during President Joe Biden’s administration amid a time of rising concern that the Chinese government had cultivated a network of operatives to influence local elections in the U.S. to install politicians who were friendly to Beijing and could help promote Chinese interests.
According to the plea deal, Sun received instructions from Chinese government officials to post pro-Beijing content on a website he ran with another individual who became a candidate for local office and won election in 2022. Sun worked as a campaign adviser for the individual and the following year drafted a report for Chinese officials seeking funding and assignments for more pro-Beijing activities, according to the agreement.
While the individual was not named in court papers, Sun was listed as a campaign treasurer for Arcadia City Council candidate Eileen Wang on a 2022 campaign statement filing.
Wang earlier this month was sworn in as mayor of Arcadia, a city of nearly 60,000 people northeast of Los Angeles that has a sizable Asian population.
