Judge to decide on trial fate for ex-House aide (R) accused of embezzlement

Lansing — A former Michigan House aide who secured a $25 million grant in 2022 for a health park in Clare failed to alert the state that he would profit from the arrangement and worked to set up an inexperienced board of directors for the nonprofit to steer as he wished, Attorney General Dana Nessel's office argued Wednesday.

David Coker, an ex-aide to Republican former House Speaker Jason Wentworth, violated provisions of a Clare health park project's grant agreement with the state when he failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest and subcontracted earnings that eclipsed the grant agreement's salary cap, Assistant Attorney General Kelli Megyasi said.

"His non-disclosure was an attempt to defraud and cheat," Megyasi told 54-A District Judge Kristen Simmons at the close of a two-day preliminary exam to establish probable cause for embezzlement charges against Coker.

Coker's attorney, Josh Blanchard, rejected those arguments, noting that Coker, who helped establish Complete Health Park, was transparent when asked about his ownership of a consulting firm, IW Consulting, that received $820,000 for alleged work related to the project.



https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/04/08/ex-michigan-house-aide-david-coker-faces-embezzlement-charges-25-million-grant-clare-health-park/89516488007/