Shawn Wilmoth of Warren and Willie Reed of Pompano Beach, Florida, were found guilty by a Macomb County jury for conducting a criminal enterprise related to fraudulent signature collection during the 2022 Michigan election cycle. The verdict was announced by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The two defendants operated businesses that were contracted, either directly or through consultants, by several gubernatorial and judicial campaigns to collect signatures required for placement on the August 2022 primary ballot. According to prosecutors, Wilmoth and Reed charged more than $700,000 for what was supposed to be valid signature collection but instead submitted tens of thousands of forged signatures across eight campaigns. As a result, seven candidates did not qualify for the ballot due to insufficient valid signatures, while one candidate withdrew before submitting any signatures. The Kelley campaign received no signatures from the defendants.
Attorney General Dana Nessel stated: “The fraud perpetrated by the defendants robbed eight candidates of their chance to appear on the ballot, defrauded their campaigns and denied millions of Michiganders a choice in the 2022 gubernatorial election. I am proud of the diligent work my office and the Department of State has done to secure this conviction. We will continue to investigate and prosecute instances of election fraud to protect our democratic process.”
Wilmoth was convicted on multiple charges including conducting a criminal enterprise (20-year felony), false pretenses involving amounts over $100,000 (20-year felony), additional counts involving lower amounts (15-year felonies), use of a computer to commit crimes (10-year felonies), and election law forgery (5-year felonies). Reed faced similar convictions with an additional charge for larceny by conversion.
The Michigan Bureau of Elections detected the forged signatures soon after submission. The Department determined that seven campaigns had failed to meet requirements for ballot access and referred the matter to the Attorney General’s office in June 2022. Charges were filed against Wilmoth and Reed in September 2023.
A third defendant, Jamie Wilmoth-Goodin of Warren, was acquitted.
Sentencing is scheduled before Judge James Maceroni in Macomb County Circuit Court on March 18.
The Michigan Department of Attorney General serves as the state’s chief legal office with authority throughout Michigan to protect residents and address issues such as human trafficking and support for vulnerable populations (official website). Under Dana Nessel’s leadership as Michigan’s 54th attorney general (official website), the department has worked on public service initiatives including drafting expungement laws (official website) and responding to community needs like combating scams and supporting crime victims (official website).
