DePerno has called Nessel's allegations garbage and said she's using the investigatory powers of her office for political purposes. DePerno holds an English degree from the University of Michigan, a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy and a graduate degree in taxation from the New York University School of Law. "Incredibly, the appeals court noted, DePerno made the following analogy: lets assume a Judge was raped. A Republican-led state Senate panel that spent months investigating the contest found no evidence of widespread fraud. 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. She said in her victory speech she plans to move the state forward over the next four years. 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. DePerno was able to obtain jobless assistance by presenting paperwork to the state indicating he was fired for failing to promote a harmonious relationship with the firm, not fraud. 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. He has claimed he wants to prosecute Nessel as well as fellow Democratic incumbents Gov. 2023 The Detroit News, a Digital First Media Newspaper, DePerno said of the last presidential election. As DePerno worked on the 2020 election, his law office's website linked to a fundraising page that brought in nearly $400,000. "We tried to plot our strategy that way. The Oak Park educator and conservative activist will take the reins months after the Michigan GOP in November lost long-held majorities in the House and Senate and lost races seeking to oust the incumbent Democratic governor, secretary of state and attorney general. ", More:Matt DePerno's rapid rise in GOP politics mired in controversy, lawsuits. Hilson, a Democrat who was named the special prosecutor in September, continues to review the case. I've taken on tough cases. from the New York University School of Law. Feb 10 Don't miss our Pre-Convention Rally with President Donald Trump THIS MONDAY! 38th State Senate Candidate for Michigan. 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. The guys got no ethics at all, William Buhl, a retired Van Buren County Circuit Court judge and former Republican, told Bridge. Trump, who has touted DePerno's legal efforts, endorsed him to be Michigan's attorney general on Sept. 16, 2021. He fights the fight for the little guy, and for the good guy. 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. State Rep. Steve Carra, R-Three Rivers, has been an outspoken DePerno supporter. I dont have a bad word to say about him, and other than people he grew up with and has been around his whole life, I probably got to know him better than anybody since the November election, Bailey said. 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. Matt attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree. Forton said his decision was meant to ensure that a "grassroots-type" hopeful had a chance to win. The Protect the People political action committee called him a "corrupt lawyer" in one of its ads in recent days. DePerno is considered a frontrunner for the Michigan Republican Partys nomination for attorney general, along with former state House Speaker Tom Leonard, the GOP nominee in 2018. But Democrats have slammed his continued unproven claims about fraud in the 2020 election. Firm: Michigan AG hopeful Matt DePerno fired over padded, false billings, Campaign donors love a winner, dump Michigan GOP for Democrats after election, Turns out, young voters didnt sway 22 election in Michigan, records show, Basically broke, Michigan GOP to charge delegates to attend convention, Share the article you just read on Twitter, Share the article you just read on Facebook, Share the article you just read via email, Michigan stopped Ohio toxic waste last week, but we import waste every day, Democrats push Michigan gun reforms. Matthew Wilk of Northville said Republicans cant rely on the state party to do things the state GOP used to do. More:Before Matt DePerno launched a bid for attorney general, he cleared up an arrest warrant. DePerno, 53, is a Portage-based attorney who primarily works on tax cases and worked primarily in Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties. Natalie DePerno, 23, graduated with an accounting degree from MSU. The grievance commission can also privately admonish an attorney or place them on contractual probation, but those lighter punishments are not made public. Matthew has been attacked many times from elected officials, including current Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, but he has not backed down. In another suit, the Michigan Court of Appeals dismissed a DePerno request to disqualify a judge from a lawsuit involving lakefront property easement, and highlighted an unusual comparison DePerno had made in a 2015 court hearing. All rights reserved. Matthew has been fighting against tyranny in Michigan for many years, including protesting across the state against Whitmer and Nessel's unconstitutional mask mandates, school and business lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and critical race theory. LANSING Former President Donald Trump endorsed Kalamazoo attorney Matt DePerno on Friday in the race for chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. Matt DePerno, an attorney general candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, sued the firm over his firing and denied the allegations in court. Dodge has since retired and told Bridge Michigan he did not remember the dispute well. When Courser and DePerno sued The Detroit News over its original reporting on the sex scandal, Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Timothy Connors dismissed the case and ordered Courser and DePerno to jointly pay $79,701.63 in sanctions. A vote for Matt is a vote for your civil liberties! "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 initial tallies in the Republican stronghold had Democrat Joe Biden winning by 3,260 votes with 62% of the overall total to Trump's 36%. "Thank goodness that most of my cases were nothing like this one. 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. But he never did, the Moffits attorney alleged in the malpractice suit. Nessel's office began its investigation in February, before DePerno was her opponent. On. 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. They need to see a party actually advocating for the values we espouse. Whitmer" for her nursing home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, called for increased transparency standards for state government and voiced opposition to abortion. DePerno is well-known and well-liked by many clients, but his legal career has been marked by some discord. 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. "Anyone who does not treat systemic election corruption commensurate with the state and national threat it is, should be disqualified from any position in party leadership," Karamo's plan said. But the changing tallies led to a wave of concerns and conspiracy theories about what had happened. 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. 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. 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. He went on to repeatedly appear in Antrim County court to challenge the November 2020 election results while the warrant was in place. Among the questionable billings: DePerno allegedly charged the Moffits $1,024.35 to videotape a deposition that a federal magistrate had ordered him to personally pay as a sanction for obstructing an earlier deposition, coaching a witness and raising utterly meritless objections. He is currently representing anAnn Arbor firefighterwho he said was fired for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. He is currently representing an Ann Arbor firefighter who he said was fired for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. 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. George Dernis, who DePerno has represented ina nearly eight-year legal battleover foreclosure of Michigan properties hed used as collateral to purchase a grocery store, said DePerno helped guide his family through hell and back., If it wasnt for Matt, wed be out on the streets, Dernis told Bridge. Trump has thrown significant political weight behind DePerno, endorsing him, speaking on his behalf at a Mar-A-Lago fundraiser and announcing plans to stump for him and other endorsed candidates at a Michigan rally on April 2. 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. Some attorneys are more challenging than others, Dodge said in an email. About. Last Name. Nessel joked about a "drag queen for every school" during an event in June. The News eventually sued Laura DePerno in Kalamazoo County court, and Matt DePerno challenged the Washtenaw County court's ruling in the state Court of Appeals. The Michigan Advance was one of the outlets denied media credentials to cover . DePerno has never been publicly disciplined by the state, according to records from the Attorney Discipline Board. Kristina Karamo (Secretary of State) - $796,022. Courser and DePerno unsuccessfully argued audio recordings that prompted Livengood's reporting in 2015 had been improperly edited. I will continue to fight like hell to restore Michigan to all it can be and I look forward to continuing this journey with you all.". . Matthew DePerno is an attorney who serves clients worldwide from his office in Kalamazoo Michigan, USA. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. DePerno's work with Courser led to a years-long defamation suit against The News and staff member Chad Livengood, who broke the story of Courser's affair and the lawmaker's scheme to hide it. Who's in, out of race? In November 2020, Antrim County resident, William Bailey, hired Matthew to represent him in his lawsuit against Antrim County and the Michigan Secretary of States office, to conduct his own audit of the November general election irregularities in Antrim County. Asked about that, Castiglia countered that people "are getting sick of the doomsday Dem approach. Forton endorsed Karamo before the first round of voting. Former state Rep. Aaron Miller, a Republican from Sturgis, said Karamo's victory indicated some Michigan Republicans want to keep losing elections. She previously worked as an assistant prosecutor in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. People get into disputes and they say things about each other in litigation, he told Bridge in a phone interview. As recently as last month, he criticized the GOP-led Legislature for failing to. I just think this guy is going to be looking for election fraud under rocks," LaBrant said. Now calling himself a constitutional attorney, DePerno told Bridge his favorite cases are those that involve constitutional rights people who have arguments that they've lost their rights because of government overreach.. 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. "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. And I continuously showed that throughout my career. DePerno lost to Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel by 9 percentage points in November. He alleged oppression of a minority shareholder and said his termination caused extreme mental anguish, emotional distress, shock and humiliation.. DePerno denied many of the accusations but eventually negotiated a settlement with the Moffits, whose attorney declined to discuss terms of the deal. Trump, who's campaigning for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, endorsed DePerno for party chair in January. Other issues her campaign highlights includes consumer protection, protection for seniors, environmental protection, health care access, and robocall reductions. 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. 2023 Bridge Michigan. 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. Could that Judge then rule on rape cases, or would that create a bias for the Judge? 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. Ironically, DePerno, who was a fierce opponent of the 2020 election results and consistently denied their outcome, conceded the race for attorney general prior to it being called by media outlets. DePerno is one of nine people who were investigated by Nessel's office for an alleged Michigan vote tabulator tampering scheme. And the GOP-controlled Michigan Senate Oversight Committee accused DePerno of spreading "misleading information and illogical conclusions.". Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. Karamo lost to Benson by 14 percentage points. 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. Last weekend, Democrats reelected Lavora Barnes to a third term as chairwoman of the Michigan Democratic Party. 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. Were good neighbors and were going to be winning elections again.. It just screams out: This is why people hate lawyers. We dont need this in our profession.. Nessel defeated Republican former House Speaker Tom Leonard that year by 3 points. 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. 2 min read. The News asked DePerno and Nessel to release their most recent tax returns. Fill in the form below and we'll be in touch. 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. That happens all the time, and then things are resolved.. He will have a staff of more than 500 people, and his . Some Republicans voiced frustration and uncertainty about the partys direction Saturday. In early August, Nessel sought a special prosecutor to consider potential charges against DePerno and eight others because of an alleged "conspiracy" to gain improper access to voting machines in Michigan. "Matthew DePerno showed up the day after the election, using our president's name, taking nearly $400,000 from every one of you," Leonard said during a debate in Oakland County. UP First. He alleged oppression of a minority shareholder and said his termination caused "extreme mental anguish, emotional distress, shock and humiliation.". 62. ", While DePerno said he was conceding the race, he also said he would "refuse to concede that Michigan is a blue state. DePerno refused. Nov 2. Published reports say Nessel's office is asking that a special prosecutor investigate whether the Republican candidate for state attorney general, Matt DePerno, and others should be charged in . "I think it's extremely problematic," Truscott told Bridge Michigan. ", Matt DePerno's rapid rise in GOP politics mired in controversy, lawsuits, an Ann Arbor firefighter who challenged the city's COVID-19 vaccine policy, The numbers became jumbled during the communication of the unofficial results to the county's election management system, push for an "independent and nonpartisan forensic audit" in Antrim County, "misleading information and illogical conclusions. I've taken on cases that people even in the media have disagreed with.. During her speech before the first vote, Karamo touted her decision last year not to concede the secretary of state race to Benson in November and said the party's current leadership operated like a "political mafia." 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