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Kwame Kilpatrick (Photo from Movemental Ministries)
This past Monday, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick filed a motion asking his sentencing judge to relieve him of more than $800,000 he owes Detroit taxpayers in restitution stemming from his 2013 public corruption conviction.
Kilpatrick argued that he does not owe the money and that the restitution hanging over him is hurting him professionally and robbing him of opportunities.
On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office fired back, insisting Kilpatrick pay the $823,681.18 he owes. It filed a request for a writ of continuing garnishment, meaning the government hopes to continue garnishing money from Kilpatrick’s bank accounts, income, or property.
“More than 30 days has elapsed since demand for payment of the debt was made, and the defendant has failed to satisfy the debt,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Nathan wrote in a filing.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds has yet to rule on the matter.
Kilpatrick wrote in his motion that he does not believe he owes the money and that denying his request to dismiss the debt “could potentially stymie his professional progress and ability to earn adequate income for his family, as well as have a chilling effect on those whom he mentors, counsels, and teaches to be law-abiding citizens.”
“When released from this restitution burden (and surrounding activities by federal attorneys, agencies, and media), he would be able to seek, produce, and achieve additional opportunities for the betterment of his family and community,” he wrote.
He also disputes the amount owed, and attached in his court filing a 2023 letter from the U.S. Attorney's Office saying he owed $164,584.42.
Kilpatrick, 55, who lives with his wife and two children in Novi, wrote in the motion that he is an ordained minister who is invited to preach, teach, and speak throughout the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean, “all while he continues his advocacy for inmates in state and federal prison.” He also has a virtual ministry, Movemental Ministries.
This story was first reported by Robert Snell in The Detroit News.
In 2013, a federal jury convicted Kilpatrick on 24 of 30 corruption counts. U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds sentenced him to 28 years in prison. In January 2021, President Donald Trump commuted his sentence to time served, which amounted to about eight years.
A pardon would have relieved him of any restitution.
