LANSING, Mich.(WOWO) — The wife of former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to a felony embezzlement charge involving a now-defunct nonprofit organization.
Stephanie Chatfield was sentenced Monday in Ingham County 30th Circuit Court to six months of probation after pleading guilty to one count of embezzlement between $200 and $1,000 from a nonprofit.
She was also ordered to complete 25 hours of community service and pay a $2,000 fine.
As part of a plea agreement, Chatfield will have the remaining charges against her dismissed after she completes probation according to News10 Lansing.
Her attorneys said the resolution allows Chatfield and her family to move forward after more than two years of legal proceedings.
“This resolution allows her and her family to begin moving forward after more than two years of difficult and very public proceedings,” her attorneys said in a statement. “Stephanie is the rock of her family, a mother of five children and a teacher. Her focus now is on her family, continuing her work and putting this chapter of her life behind her.”
Chatfield pleaded guilty in June. She was initially charged in April 2024 with embezzlement from a nonprofit organization and conspiracy to commit embezzlement from a nonprofit.
The case involved allegations tied to the Peninsula Fund, a nonprofit that has since dissolved.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office previously alleged that Stephanie and Lee Chatfield used nonprofit funds for personal expenses, including paying credit card bills and funding what prosecutors described as lavish vacations, including trips to Universal Studios in Orlando, Las Vegas and the Bahamas.
Because the nonprofit is no longer operating, prosecutors said restitution is unlikely to be ordered.
Before the plea agreement, Stephanie Chatfield faced several additional felony charges, including allegations of conducting a criminal enterprise, conspiracy, false pretenses, embezzlement involving larger amounts of money and filing a false tax return.
Lee Chatfield, who served as the 76th Michigan Speaker of the House from 2019 to 2021, continues to face his own criminal case.
Prosecutors have charged Lee Chatfield with multiple counts, including embezzlement from a nonprofit organization, embezzlement by a public officer, conspiracy to commit embezzlement and an alleged violation of the charitable trust act.
According to court records, Lee Chatfield’s trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 21, 2026.
The allegations against Lee Chatfield remain pending in court. A criminal charge is only an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
