MEDC wants $2,400 to release records tied to missing grant funds
The Michigan Economic Development Corp. wants thousands of dollars to fulfill a public records request related to a recent controversy involving taxpayer funds.
The Center Square submitted a Freedom of Information Act request following allegations that more than $1 million of a $3.4 million grant administered by MEDC went missing.
In response to the FOIA, MEDC determined that “there are 3000 pages of information” and it would take “approximately 55.5 hours” to fulfill the request. To receive the documents, MEDC required a payment of $2,410.92.
“We are requiring a good-faith deposit of one-half the approximate labor costs,” the corporation said in response to the request. “The estimated labor costs are based on the hourly rate of the lowest paid MEDC staff capable of performing the tasks to process this request.”
That hourly rate is $43.44 per hour. The minimum wage in Michigan is $13.73.
That comes as the American Arab Chamber reportedly fired Executive Director Bilal Hammoud for potential involvement in the grant fraud.
Hammoud is considered an ally of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, who appointed him to the state’s Workforce Development Board two years ago. Hammoud resigned from that board in August after the investigation was announced.
The allegations add to longstanding concerns surrounding MEDC, which in recent years have centered on Fay Beydoun.
In that case, the Whitmer ally and donor is facing 16 felonies tied to the alleged misuse of a $20 million state grant awarded to her nonprofit, Global Link International.
The FOIA request sought records of grant payments made to the American Arab Chamber between January 2022 and January 2026, as well as emails received from Hammoud during that period.
The request also sought internal communications from the past year regarding inquiries into the grant funds, potential fraud and Hammoud’s termination.
MEDC has previously faced legal action over similar records requests, with document production delayed even after payment was made.
This comes as the corporation continues to face scrutiny. While state Republicans have long called for the abolition of MEDC, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, notably joined in those calls after the Hammoud story broke.
“Abolish the MEDC,” Nessel posted to social media in August.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office is coordinating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate the matter. The chamber is also conducting its own independent investigation.
State Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, recently spoke with The Center Square to explain his concerns with MEDC, which led him to introduce a 53-bill package a year ago that would eliminate the organization.
“MEDC has actually proved a unifying factor in the state of Michigan in a lot of respects, which is indicative of something that just doesn’t work,” Albert said. “Eventually, you have to realize the car is totaled. It’s time to stop trying to fix it up.”
The corporation, which is a taxpayer-funded economic development agency founded in 1999, has administered billions of dollars in state incentives, grants and other economic development funding.
Albert argued that it is time for Michigan to abandon its current approach to taxpayer-funded economic development.
“We’ve gone down this road far enough to see this isn’t working. We need to just focus on free enterprise. We need to make our taxes competitive again, especially with the Midwest region. We need to have a regulatory structure that makes people want to grow here, makes people want to invest here,” he said. “This picking winners and losers through corporate welfare, just doesn’t work. So, why don’t we focus on what we know that does work?”
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