House Oversight Committee Chair Jay DeBoyer today issued the following statement after Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker announced criminal charges against Traci Kornak. DeBoyer and the Oversight Committee have been holding hearings on the actions of Kornak, who is a former treasurer of the Michigan Democratic Party and served on state Attorney General Dana Nessel’s transition team.

A presentation to the committee on Tuesday offered significant detail into allegations surrounding Kornak’s past conduct while acting as a conservator for an elderly client. The client in question, Rosalene Burd, reported to Adult Protective Services (APS) that she was being “watched” by Kornak and cameras were placed in two different rooms in her residence to monitor her activity. Nearly $420,000 in transfers, claim payments and withdrawals were flagged as questionable transactions by a prominent accounting firm that had looked into Kornak’s conservatorship role with Burd, and in multiple instances billing was being done for in-home care visits when the visitor log book at Burd’s residence listed nothing for a particular day.

A previous AG investigation into Kornak did not lead to enforcement of any kind and was closed in 2022 despite these additional findings coming to light:

“Our House Oversight Committee is committed to delivering accountability, transparency and results for the people. Just as was the case for our investigation into leadership at the Michigan State Police and the ensuing retirement announcement of Lt. Col. Aimee Brimacombe, we are looking into allegations of misconduct to ensure state government is working on behalf of the people, not covering for government.

“I commend Prosecutor Becker for his commitment to pursuing justice. What we saw yesterday in our Oversight Committee hearing was evidence of years of misconduct and financial exploitation involving a vulnerable individual, and it was allowed to continue because of the inaction from Dana Nessel and her office when it came to closing this case at the state level and walking away from it in 2022. Whether that was through sheer incompetence or a conflict of interest regarding her relationship with Traci Kornak, AG Nessel fell short in her responsibilities. Just because this was a successive investigation doesn’t mean the AG did her job. It means someone else did her job for her.

“We will continue to provide a layer of transparency within state government that the people deserve.”