Wife of ex-Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield sentenced to probation in embezzling case
Stephanie Chatfield, the wife of former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield, has been sentenced to six months' probation in connection with the embezzlement of a nonprofit organization.
According to the Michigan Attorney General's office, Stephanie Chatfield, 38, of Levering, Michigan, was also sentenced to 25 hours of community service and is ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. She pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement from a nonprofit under $1,000, a felony. A charge of conspiracy to commit embezzlement from a nonprofit organization was dismissed.
She pleaded guilty in June 2026. She initially pleaded not guilty in May 2025 and was bound over to stand trial.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced charges in April 2024 against Lee and Stephanie Chatfield for embezzling money from Peninsula Fund, which Nessel says was not required to report the names of donors.
Lee Chatfield was accused of using nonprofit funds to pay off his personal credit card, seeking improper mileage reimbursements from the state House for travel to Lansing that allegedly never happened, starting a check kickback scheme to move money from his political action committees through staff and back to him and subletting an apartment that was paid for by the Peninsula Fund for his profit.
Lee Chatfield, who is facing 13 charges, pleaded not guilty the following month. He served as House speaker in 2019 and 2020.
Nessel says the nonprofit has since gone defunct.
"Anyone who is granted access to non-profits and their funds must obey the law," Nessel said in a statement. "Proximity to influence does not grant immunity from accountability, and no one can use their nexus to power to unlawfully enrich themselves. Mrs. Chatfield was a willing participant on the Peninsula Fund gravy train, enjoying a lifestyle funded by money meant to support public welfare. My office remains committed to pursuing and prosecuting those who treat these types of accounts as personal piggy banks."
