Former legislative aide charged with embezzlement in $25M Clare earmark scandal

• A former aide to ex-House Speaker Jason Wentworth is charged with embezzlement, maintaining a criminal enterprise and more
• David Coker, facing eight felony counts, created a nonprofit that was awarded a $25 million earmark through the state budget
• Attorney General Dana Nessel’s department led the investigation

LANSING — A former aide to a powerful Michigan lawmaker has been charged  with multiple counts of embezzlement and running a criminal enterprise, allegedly using state money intended for a health and fitness center in Clare to buy gold coins, gold bars, silver, platinum, vehicles and firearm accessories.

David Coker, 51, of Clare had been under investigation for roughly two years after creating a nonprofit that secured a $25 million no-bid grant written into a state budget by his former boss, then-House Speaker Jason Wentworth. 

Attorney General Dana Nessel's office, which took over the investigation in late 2023, on Wednesday filed multiple felony charges against Coker in Lansing's 54A District Court. He is accused of "defrauding" the state and “enriching himself” by using some of the grant money to purchase "vehicles, firearm accessories and precious metals," according to a complaint read in court.

After his morning arrest in Clare, Coker was transported to Ingham County Jail. He was arraigned by video around 1:30 p.m. before District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons, where his attorney said he "absolutely" plans to fight the charges. 

Coker, who previously led the Clare County Republican Party and more recently headed the Clare Chamber of Commerce, has "worked tirelessly to bring transformative change" to the area, defense attorney Josh Blanchard added in a statement.

Coker's vision for the Clare health park he was expected to build was "a bold one — aimed at addressing the systemic issues of public health that have plagued the region for decades," he said. 

The state alleges that Coker, after receiving the first $9.9 million allocation of the $25 million grant,  "immediately" wired more than $820,000 from the Complete Health Park nonprofit he had created during the state budget process to his consulting firm, IW Consulting.

He then allegedly transferred "hundreds of thousands" of dollars into his personal bank accounts. Coker failed to disclose that he ran IW Consulting and submitted invoices "knowing he did not and could not have performed" $820,000 of consulting work so quickly, according to the complaint.

Related:

• Key figure in $25M Clare health park grant cooperating with Michigan probe
• Key figure in $25M Clare health campus controversy pleads guilty to fraud
• Lawsuit over $25M Clare health park grant can advance, judge rules
• ‘Red flags’ surround $25M health campus pushed by ex-Michigan House speaker

The charges against Coker include acquiring or maintaining a criminal enterprise, making false pretenses, abuse of public money and two counts of embezzlement of $100,000 or more, a felony charge punishable by up to 20 years in prison, according to court records. 

If convicted, Coker would forfeit dozens of assets authorities allege he purchased with the grant money, including multiple vehicles, firearm scopes and sights and the gold coins, bars and other precious metals.

Arrest complaints

Clare residents reported seeing law enforcement vehicles at Coker's house on Wednesday morning.

Nessel’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the charges, but a spokesperson confirmed the department had fulfilled search and arrest warrants.

Coker's defense attorney said he was taking a shower when authorities came to his home, describing it an "ambush-style arrest" that was "nothing short of disgraceful." 

"David Coker is not hiding from the truth," Blanchard said in the statement. "We've been above board every step of the way. It is the attorney general who must now answer for her tactics and the message it sends to every Michigander trying to do something good in a broken system." 

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General began investigating the $25 million grant in March 2023 because of possible double payments involving the nonprofit led by Coker. 

State officials issued a “stop order” on payments to Coker’s nonprofit in May 2023 as Bridge Michigan first reported questions about the deal and its connections with Wentworth.

As Bridge later reported, the Complete Health Park nonprofit paid Coker's for-profit IW Consulting firm more than $180,000 on December, 19, 2022 — the same day the Department of Attorney General says the first of his alleged crimes occurred. 

Emails reported by Bridge show state officials felt pressure to speed payments because the recipient was “well connected politically.”

Wentworth, a Farwell Republican who has since been term-limited out of office, had worked to add the $25 million grant to a state budget for creation of a health and fitness park in Clare. 

Wentworth, who has denied steering the grant toward Coker, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. 

Nor did state Rep. Tom Kunse, R-Clare, whose family sold land to Coker's nonprofit in a $3.5 million deal. He's previously denied wrongdoing and said he expressed concerns to the state about the project before it was suspended.

Earmark reform

Michigan lawmakers have in recent years added billions of dollars in earmarks to state budgets for pet projects in their districts, often shortly before approval with little time for legislative or public review.

The resulting grants have sparked multiple criminal investigations, including probes into the Clare health park, a group attempting to bring commercial rocket launches to the state and a metro Detroit businesswoman.

The Michigan House is attempting to reform the process this year with rules that require lawmakers to publicly disclose earmark requests months before budget votes — and explain why projects deserve public funding.

In a Wednesday statement, House Speaker Matt Hall said the new earmark rules are part of a bid to end "corruption" in state government and stop "shady deals" that "were the norm in Lansing for far too long."

"Leaders from both parties spent years handing out billions of dollars without transparency and without accountability," said Hall, R-Richland Township.

"We’re going to let the attorney general do her job and see this investigation through, keep an eye on what comes out during the proceedings to see if other changes are needed and continue passing new ethics and transparency measures across state government."

Anthony Demasi, who worked with Coker as a consultant and helped him obtain the grant, was convicted last year in a separate federal fraud case. 

Court documents revealed that Demasi had been cooperating with Nessel's investigation into the Clare health park grant. 

Coker personally approved a $150,000 payment from his nonprofit to Demasi's Beta Sole Foundation on December 19, 2022 — the same date the state alleges the first of his crimes occurred. 

Bridge reporter Mike Wilkinson contributed to this story.