DePerno wasnt paying attention in first grade when he was told how to behave himself, Magistrate Joseph Scoville said in announcing the sanctions at a May 2012 hearing, according to a transcript reviewed by Bridge. Matthew DePerno, who is running for the Michigan Republican party's nomination for state attorney general, speaks at a rally hosted by former President Donald Trump on April 2, 2022 near. "Were going to win.. LANSING Former President Donald Trump endorsed Kalamazoo attorney Matt DePerno on Friday in the race for chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. At the end of 2020, DePerno began gaining national attention for challenging the election results in northern Michigan's Antrim County. Dodge has since retired and told Bridge Michigan he did not remember the dispute well. Aug 7 (Reuters) - The Republican nominee for Michigan attorney general led a team that gained unauthorized access to voting equipment while hunting for evidence to support former President. Other Republican activists also lined up behind DePerno, citing his aggressive approach. 469 views. DePerno is best known for defending former state Rep. Todd Courser after a2015 sex scandalcover up and challengingAntrim County election resultsin a failed lawsuit that spawned ongoing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. 2023 Bridge Michigan. 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. DePerno denied many of the accusations but eventually negotiated a settlement with the Moffits, whose attorney declined to discuss terms of the deal. 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. He alleged oppression of a minority shareholder and said his termination caused extreme mental anguish, emotional distress, shock and humiliation.. But his supporters see him as a tenacious champion who's willing to take up causes others have declined. In at least one instance, DePerno admitted that he falsified billing to a clients account, the law firms attorney said in a court filing. ", "If it wasn't for Matt, we'd be out on the streets," Dernis told Bridge. Thanks for submitting! Were looking forward to a party thats successful," Karamo said. "Dana Nessel, the Radical Left, and the RINOs (Republicans in name only) are targeting Matt because he gets results and has exposed so much voter fraud in Antrim County, and many more places, in the 2020 election," Trump said at the time. On February 20, 2014, Mr. DePerno physically grabbed (me) by the shirt and informed me that if I did not immediately pay the attorney fees owed that my wife and I would lose our home in a matter of weeks, Ronald Moffit, who died in 2019, said in hissworn affidavit. And I continuously showed that throughout my career. Karamo had 58% of the vote on the . Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for "for all the damage they have done" in office. Confused, concerned and ultimately outraged that DePerno was charging them nearly $140,000 after losing them $13,000, Ronald Moffit said he confronted DePerno over the legal bill, which led to what the couples attorney would later call battery and assault by DePerno. 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. In 2016, Buhl filed a request asking the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission to investigate DePerno after he was accused of legal malpractice. As DePerno worked on the 2020 election, his law office's website linked to a fundraising page that brought in nearly $400,000. "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. Whitmer" for her nursing home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, called for increased transparency standards for state government and voiced opposition to abortion. After realizing there were problems with the numbers, Antrim County Clerk Sheryl Guy's office canvassed the election results and reported official numbers. 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. Matt DePerno, a Republican candidate for Michigan attorney general, has appeared at Capitol rallies calling for a "forensic audit" of the 2020 presidential election. The sides eventually settled out of court in 2008. 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. ", 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. If you cant abide by the laws and the rules, how do you have the moral authority to prosecute criminals?. Trump's choice for the post, Matthew DePerno, had all the . Before the 2020 campaign, DePerno was most known for representing Courser, a Lapeer area Republican who resigned from the state House after he attempted to cover up an extramarital affair with a fellow lawmaker, and for challenging election results in northern Michigan's Antrim County. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Michiganders deserve more from their elected officials, and as American Citizens, our constitutional right to ensure fair, free, and secure elections. from New York University School of Law. In 2016, Buhlfiled a requestasking the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission to investigate DePerno after he was accused of legal malpractice. Jimmy Greene, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan, is among the state Republicans who have warmed to DePerno as the general election neared. Submit. In a recent letter to Michigan GOP precinct delegates, Trump called DePerno an incredible attorney who led the charge in calling out obvious voter fraud by suing over the election in Antrim County, where an error by the Republican clerk skewed initial results in favor of Democrat Joe Biden but was quickly corrected. But it leaves him running to. 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. 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. The special prosecutor, D.J. Gretchen Whitmer also won another term with Democrats taking control of the Legislature for the first time in 40 years. The grievance commission can also privately admonish an attorney or place them on contractual probation, but those lighter punishments are not made public. The probe is completely ridiculous and part of the reason DePerno decided to run for attorney general, he told Bridge, likening it "totalitarianism" since Nessel's office battled him as opposing counsel in the Antrim County case. As a tax attorney who worked primarily in Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties, his legal career has been marked by discord. I'll continue to write good people in on my election ballots. DePerno told the Lansing publication Gongwer News Service that he had spoken with a sheriff who said his agency wasn't going to enforce the warrant and it became a "nonissue.". She was speaking out against "fake issues" that she said were dividing people. 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. On Nov. 8, voters will decide whether to put him in the attorney general's office. It was also in place as DePerno met on Jan. 6, 2021, with staff for then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the election, a convening he has acknowledged on a Republican group's candidate questionnaire. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement. John Engler. Some of DePerno's arguments became the basis for election deniers across the country, LaBrant said. GOP attorney general nominee Matthew DePerno at a Macomb County Trump rally, Oct. 1, 2022 | Laina G. Stebbins. 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%. DePerno is one of nine people who were investigated by Nessel's office for an alleged Michigan vote tabulator tampering scheme. Karamo defeated unsuccessful GOP attorney general candidate Matt DePerno of Kalamazoo, a fellow election denier who was endorsed in the party chair race by Trump. The bench warrant for DePerno's arrest was not resolved, according to available court records, and remained in effect for more than 14 months. DePerno, 53, is a Portage-based attorney who primarily works on tax cases and worked primarily in Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties. From beginning to end, the problem is you.. 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. 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.. After practicing law as a partner at a large law firm for 10 years, Matthew opened his own law practice in 2005, DePerno Law, PLLC. Vote DePerno. The COVID-19 pandemic hit Michigan weeks after the DePerno bench warrant was signed.