CLARE, Mich. (WNEM) – The founder of a nonprofit in Clare was charged with multiple felonies related to his management of a grant awarded to his organization.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office said in 2023, the state budget included a $25 million appropriation for a “community health campus pilot project.”
David Coker Jr., 51, of Clare, founded the nonprofit Complete Health Park a month before the state budget was signed into law, and he applied for the grant through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) that October.
The AG’s office said later that year, the board of directors at Complete Health Park authorized Coker to manage the organization’s finances, and he entered a contract with IW Consulting, an entity that he owned and operated.
He allegedly did not disclose his financial ties with IW Consulting to MDHHS, which was required by the grant, before paying himself on behalf of Complete Health Park.
According to the AG’s office, in December 2022, Coker submitted a financial status report to MDHHS seeking disbursement of more than $9 million in grant funds, including more than $820,000 that was categorized as “other expenses,” and on Jan. 9, 2023, MDHHS released $9.9 million in grant funds to Complete Health Park.
The same day, Coker allegedly transferred all $820,000 of the “other expenses” amount to IW Consulting based on two invoices he allegedly created and approved, the AG’s office said. The funds also allegedly grossly overstated the value of services, the AG’s office said, adding it is alleged they were part of a scheme to divert public funds for Coker’s personal gain.
Coker was arraigned on Wednesday, May 14, and the following charges:
- One count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony
- Three counts of larceny by false pretenses, in an amount greater than $100,000, a 20-year felony
- Two counts of embezzlement by an agent, more than $100,000, a 20-year felony
- One count of misappropriation of public monies, a high misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison.
A preliminary exam is scheduled for May 30 at 8:30 a.m.
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