LANSING, Mich. — A Macomb County jury convicted two men in a Michigan petition signature fraud case tied to forged nomination signatures submitted during the 2022 election cycle, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday.

Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office said Shawn Wilmoth of Warren and Willie Reed of Pompano Beach, Florida, operated businesses that collected nomination signatures for several gubernatorial and judicial candidates. Those candidates sought placement on the August 2022 primary ballot.

Forged signatures tied to 2022 primary ballot access

Prosecutors said campaigns for Ryan Kelley, Perry Johnson, James Craig, Donna Brandenburg, Michael Brown, Michael Markey, and judicial candidates Tricia Dare, John Cahalan, and John Michael Malone hired companies controlled by the defendants to gather the required signatures.

Court records show the defendants charged campaigns more than $700,000 for signature collection services. Prosecutors told jurors that petitions submitted to several campaigns contained tens of thousands of forged signatures.

The Michigan Bureau of Elections identified irregularities during its review of candidate petitions in 2022. Bureau staff examined the submissions and determined that seven candidates failed to meet the required signature threshold. One additional candidate withdrew before submitting signatures for review.

Investigators referred the matter to the Attorney General’s Office in June 2022. Prosecutors filed criminal charges in September 2023. The charges alleged that the defendants coordinated a large-scale signature forgery operation during the 2022 election cycle.

In announcing the verdicts, Nessel said the scheme harmed both candidates and voters during the gubernatorial election process.

The jury convicted Wilmoth of conducting a criminal enterprise, multiple counts of false pretenses, using a computer to commit a crime, and election law forgery. Jurors convicted Reed of conducting a criminal enterprise along with multiple fraud, computer crime, forgery, and larceny-related charges.

Jurors acquitted a third defendant, Jamie Wilmoth-Goodin of Warren.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 18 before Judge James Maceroni in the 16th Circuit Court in Macomb County.

The convictions conclude one of the most significant election-related fraud investigations stemming from Michigan’s 2022 petition review process. However, sentencing and any potential appeals remain pending.