On Wednesday, Shawn Wilmoth, of Warren, was sentenced by Judge James Maceroni in the 16th Circuit Court in Macomb County to 4 to 20 years’ incarceration after being convicted by a Macomb County jury of conducting a criminal enterprise and defrauding gubernatorial candidates Donna Brandenburg, Mike Brown, Perry Johnson, and Michael Markey as well as judicial candidates Tricia Dare, John Cahalan, and John Michael Malone in the 2022 election cycle, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Wilmoth was also ordered to pay $376,601 in restitution to the victims.
The candidates contracted, directly or through intermediary consultants, with businesses owned and operated by Wilmoth for the fulfillment of their nomination signature requirements to appear on the August 2022 primary ballots. In total, Wilmoth charged the campaigns nearly $400,000 for valid signature collection, then knowingly delivered tens of thousands of forged signatures on nomination petitions to the campaigns.
“This defendant ran a calculated scheme that sabotaged candidates and stripped Michigan voters of choices in the 2022 election,” said Nessel. “This conduct attacked the integrity of our electoral system, and I am proud of the work of my office and the Department of State in securing this sentence. We remain committed to fighting to hold those who commit election fraud accountable.”
Wilmoth was found guilty of:
• 1 count, Conducting a Criminal Enterprise.
• 2 counts, False Pretenses, $100,000 or more.
• 2 counts, False Pretenses, $50,000 to $100,000.
• 3 counts, False Pretenses, $20,000 to $50,000.
• 7 counts, Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, $20,000 or more.
• 7 counts, Election Law Forgery.
The forgeries were quickly detected by the Michigan Bureau of Elections. The Department of State then referred the matter to the Department of Attorney General for investigation in June of 2022.
Wilmoth was convicted last month alongside co-defendant Willie Reed, of Pompano Beach, Florida. Reed will be sentenced before Judge Maceroni in the 16th Circuit Court on March 31. Nessel charged the defendants in September 2023.
The candidates contracted, directly or through intermediary consultants, with businesses owned and operated by Wilmoth for the fulfillment of their nomination signature requirements to appear on the August 2022 primary ballots. In total, Wilmoth charged the campaigns nearly $400,000 for valid signature collection, then knowingly delivered tens of thousands of forged signatures on nomination petitions to the campaigns.
“This defendant ran a calculated scheme that sabotaged candidates and stripped Michigan voters of choices in the 2022 election,” said Nessel. “This conduct attacked the integrity of our electoral system, and I am proud of the work of my office and the Department of State in securing this sentence. We remain committed to fighting to hold those who commit election fraud accountable.”
Wilmoth was found guilty of:
• 1 count, Conducting a Criminal Enterprise.
• 2 counts, False Pretenses, $100,000 or more.
• 2 counts, False Pretenses, $50,000 to $100,000.
• 3 counts, False Pretenses, $20,000 to $50,000.
• 7 counts, Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, $20,000 or more.
• 7 counts, Election Law Forgery.
The forgeries were quickly detected by the Michigan Bureau of Elections. The Department of State then referred the matter to the Department of Attorney General for investigation in June of 2022.
Wilmoth was convicted last month alongside co-defendant Willie Reed, of Pompano Beach, Florida. Reed will be sentenced before Judge Maceroni in the 16th Circuit Court on March 31. Nessel charged the defendants in September 2023.
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