By Liz Nass
Gongwer News Service
All of Lansing had two questions on its mind Wednesday after the Department of Attorney General’s surprise raid of Michigan Economic Development Corporation offices:
What were they looking for, and why did they feel a search warrant was necessary to get it?
Those answers have not been answered but an MEDC spokesperson did insist the search warrant was unnecessary.
The Detroit News first reported on the search warrant.
Danny Wimmer, spokesperson for Attorney General Dana Nessel, confirmed that another search warrant was executed on Wednesday on a residence in Farmington Hills, in furtherance of an ongoing investigation.
Wimmer could not confirm if this resident was Fay Beydoun, who was previously awarded a $20 million grant for her nonprofit, Global Link International, which is registered in Farmington Hills.
The department has been investigating the grant since April 2024 for concerns on the use of the grant money, which The News reported previously includes the purchase of a $4,500 coffee maker, tens of thousands in first-class airfare and hundreds of thousands on two salaries in three months.
The statement from Wimmer also did not include any updates on whether there have been charges filed against either search warrant party.
Otie McKinley, MEDC spokesperson, said in a statement that the agency has been “fully and voluntarily” cooperating with the attorney general’s office and called today’s actions “unwarranted and unnecessary.”
MEDC CEO Quentin Messer Jr. is currently in Australia on the trade mission with Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Bobby Leddy, a spokesperson for Whitmer, said they will defer any comment to the MEDC.
Gongwer News Service
All of Lansing had two questions on its mind Wednesday after the Department of Attorney General’s surprise raid of Michigan Economic Development Corporation offices:
What were they looking for, and why did they feel a search warrant was necessary to get it?
Those answers have not been answered but an MEDC spokesperson did insist the search warrant was unnecessary.
The Detroit News first reported on the search warrant.
Danny Wimmer, spokesperson for Attorney General Dana Nessel, confirmed that another search warrant was executed on Wednesday on a residence in Farmington Hills, in furtherance of an ongoing investigation.
Wimmer could not confirm if this resident was Fay Beydoun, who was previously awarded a $20 million grant for her nonprofit, Global Link International, which is registered in Farmington Hills.
The department has been investigating the grant since April 2024 for concerns on the use of the grant money, which The News reported previously includes the purchase of a $4,500 coffee maker, tens of thousands in first-class airfare and hundreds of thousands on two salaries in three months.
The statement from Wimmer also did not include any updates on whether there have been charges filed against either search warrant party.
Otie McKinley, MEDC spokesperson, said in a statement that the agency has been “fully and voluntarily” cooperating with the attorney general’s office and called today’s actions “unwarranted and unnecessary.”
MEDC CEO Quentin Messer Jr. is currently in Australia on the trade mission with Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Bobby Leddy, a spokesperson for Whitmer, said they will defer any comment to the MEDC.
