At the end of 2020, DePerno began gaining national attention for challenging the election 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. State Rep. Ryan Berman is also running. Ultimately, I collected the fees that were due to me, DePerno told Bridge. Robert Baker, DePerno's lawyer for a portion of the case, told the court at one point that DePerno had "virtually no assets," according to a court transcript. One of DePerno's Republican convention opponents in the spring, Leonard, called on DePerno to detail what happened with the money in March. New York University School of Law Master of Laws (LL.M.) The guys got no ethics at all, William Buhl, a retired Van Buren County Circuit Court judge and former Republican, told Bridge. Forton endorsed Karamo before the first round of voting. I'll continue to write good people in on my election ballots. . Will you please support our nonprofit newsroom? "And I assume that the next step would be after this debtor's exam today to determine who owes Mr. DePerno money, and then they're going to proceed to garnish all of his, or what they can, of his receivables.". Whitmer" for her nursing home policies. After leaving that role, she opened her own law firm. In an interview Tuesday, DePerno told Bridge he and colleagues had a dispute on where the firm was going but resolved the case with mutual satisfaction. He declined to discuss specific allegations, citing the secrecy agreement. Beginningin June 1995, he practiced at Kreis, Enderle, Callander & Hudgins, but he had a falling out with the firm, which accused him of "acts of fraud and dishonesty" and alleged he "padded" his billable hours. $400,000 for an Election Fraud Defense Fund in 2020, and critics have urged him to disclose what he did with that money. Guy's office sent the official numbers to the Bureau of Elections at 6:35 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2020. The special prosecutor, D.J. 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DePerno formed his campaign committee to run for attorney general 12 days later, on July 14, 2021. (Bridge photo by Jonathan Oosting). Nessel joked about a "drag queen for every school" during an event in June. Trump had also endorsed DePerno in that . Trump had actually won the county by 3,788 votes, 61%-37%, a 7,048-vote swing from the unofficial results. 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. As he's campaigned for attorney general, DePerno vowed to "investigate and prosecute Gov. The ProAssurance Casualty Company alleged DePerno made unreasonable demands of attorneys they had hired to represent him in the Moffits malpractice suit. Elissa Slotkin announces bid to succeed Debbie Stabenow. DePerno has never been publicly disciplined by the state, according to records from the Attorney Discipline Board. For the 53-year-old attorney's detractors, he's a threat to democracy with a questionable professional record that includes an ongoing state criminal investigation into a scheme to access voting tabulators. She becomes the first Black person to lead the Michigan GOP. 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. In a related case, involving a malpractice claim against DePerno, he argued the Kreis Enderle firm invented a claim of misconduct to deny him state unemployment benefits. But the litigation created four volumes of records at the Kalamazoo County clerk's office. The sheriff's office this week didn't provide a response to questions about the warrant. 2023 The Detroit News, a Digital First Media Newspaper, DePerno said of the last presidential election. 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. "The Washtenaw County Sheriff Department said they thought the bench warrant was so outrageous that they did not consider it enforceable," Shepard said. DePerno had padded billings, claimed excessive write offs, manipulated the firms timekeeping system and logged hours with no explanation, according to the interoffice memo prepared by Kreis Enderle administrator Mike Beam. In October 2019, Connors dismissed the case against The News "with prejudice" and ordered DePerno and Courser to pay The News $79,701 as a sanction, according to Washtenaw County court records. "Although we didn't emerge victorious tonight, I believe we sent a strong message to Lansing. DePerno, 53, is a Portage-based attorney who primarily works on tax cases and worked primarily in Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties. At issue was DePernos effort to remove Cass County Judge Michael Dodge from the case, arguing the judge could not be impartial because he owned property on a separate lake. Matt DePerno has earned the endorsement of the Michigan Republican Party to take on incumbent Democrat Dana Nessel in November. The March 12, 2020, hearing was eventually canceled, according to court records. Matt DePerno, an attorney general candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, sued the firm over his firing and denied the allegations in court. In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were: Tudor Dixon (Governor) - $7,362,895. 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. 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. "We look forward to having a Republican Party that shows Michiganders that were here to serve. "The tremendous GOP grassroots enthusiasm for DePerno combined with Nessel trying to shut down Line 5 and talking about a drag queen in every classroom gives DePerno the best chance to win of any Republican on the statewide ticket," said Yob, who previously advised the lawyer's campaign. Matthew DePerno was born in Warren and raised in Troy, Michigan. 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. His experience and record of success has benefited individuals, small business, and multi-national corporations. DePerno committed fraud, deceit and dishonesty with regards to bogus billing, duplicate billing and write offs, in addition to other wrongful acts, his former law firm Kreis, Enderle, Calendar and Hudgins PC alleged in a 2006 legal filing. Dodge has since retired and told Bridge Michigan he did not remember the dispute well. from New York University School of Law. In a related case, involving a malpractice claim against DePerno, he argued the Kreis Enderle firm invented a claim of misconduct to deny him state unemployment benefits. Could that Judge then rule on rape cases, or would that create a bias for the Judge? For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive. In a Michigan Court of Appeals filing, DePerno accused lawyers for The News of telling him before the Feb. 6, 2020, hearing that it had been adjourned. The convention lasted about 11 hours with delegates battling over how the votes at the event would be counted and last-minute jockeying among the 10 candidates for party chair. We are honored to have Kari's support in this race, check out the full endorsement! Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel, whom DePerno is hoping to unseat, and her supporters have made DePerno's efforts to undermine the 2020 presidential election and the uncertainties surrounding his finances key issues in the race to be the state's chief law enforcement officer. He also represented former state Rep. Todd Courser in a sex scandal cover-up case, which ended with Courser pleading no contest to willful neglect of duty by a public officer. The people of MIchigan are tired of the rising crime, threats to parental rights and an ongoing lack of trust in government. 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. The News asked DePerno and Nessel to release their most recent tax returns. 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. 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. "Weve watched the Attorney Generals office and some of the positions theyve taken, and theyve been more political than legal," Greene said of Nessel's office. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement. But six days after the Moffits refused to pay his fees, DePerno took action to try and collect: He began foreclosure proceedings to sell the Moffits new home and the land where their old home had burned down, according to court filings. An incumbent attorney general hasn't lost reelection in Michigan since 1954. 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. 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. Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Timothy Connors signed a warrant in February 2020 for DePerno's arrest after he failed to appear for a creditor's exam in an unsuccessful defamation case brought by his client, former state Rep. Todd Courser, against The Detroit News. Another factor in his decision to run: Trump, who in July encouraged him to enter the race. 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.. 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. Matt and Laura have three wonderful children who are all current or former students at Michigan State University (MSU). 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 DePerno's characterization of dismissal "the farthest thing from the truth.. 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. If you can't abide by the laws and the rules, how do you have the moral authority to prosecute criminals?". The sooner they can return to the party of sensibility and economic prosperity, the sooner they can start winning. The secret to a good campaign is to peak at the right time," Greenlee said. Then, on June 23, 2021, DePerno filed a motion to have the bench warrants set aside "nunc pro tunc," essentially meaning the cancellation should be retroactive to the day the warrants were issued in February 2020. Experts say there isno credible evidenceof fraud in Antrim County, and a hand recount of paper ballots later confirmed the official results showing Trump won the area with 61 percent of the vote, just shy of his 62 percent showing in 2016. Develop A Candidate Recruitment Program through the Delegates, Play Offense Not Defense with the Democrats. Democratic President Joe Biden beat Trump by 154,188 votes in Michigan. He also represented former state Rep. Todd Courser in a sex scandal cover-up case, which ended with Courser. The parties later settled for $20,000, which Detroit News publisher and editor Gary Miles called a message thatfrivolous lawsuitsagainst news organizations for performing their duties under the First Amendment will not be taken lightly.. Matthew and his team captured forensic images of the Dominion Voting machines and conducted forensic analyses of those images to fully understand the errors and inconsistencies in the voting process and tabulation procedures prior to, during, and after the 2020 general election. Matt is a native of Michigan and has been a Kalamazoo resident with his wife, Laura, since 1994 after receiving his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy. DePerno got his law degree at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 1994. For months, Matthew has tried to take his findings to the Michigan Legislature, asking for their support in demanding a Statewide full forensic audit, to no avail. Matt DePerno has been dodging questions about his personal finances for years, and this is one more reason why Michiganders cant trust him to be their next AG," said Emily Trifone, deputy communications director at the Democratic Attorneys General Association. DePerno denied many of the accusations but eventually negotiated a settlement with the Moffits, whose attorney declined to discuss terms of the deal. Thank goodness that most of my cases were nothing like this one.. After practicing law for a decade as a law firm partner, Matt opened the doors of his own practice, DePerno Law, PLLC, in 2005, where he has since been ardently defending Americans constitutional rights. Ive taken on cases that people even in the media have disagreed with.. I honestly believe on the first vote shes going to have the most votes," Forton said in an interview on the convention floor of Karamo. Thanks for submitting! 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. ", Eric Castiglia, chairman of the Republican Party of Macomb County, said DePerno is gaining steam politically because of his focus on the "rule of law.". I have fought to try to vindicate President Trump when no one else would., Doing the right thing doesnt always make you popular," DePerno added moments later.
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