Charges filed year after phony signatures roiled Michigan race for governor

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Three people have been charged with forgery and other crimes in an investigation of phony petition signatures that spoiled the candidacies of five Republicans who were running for Michigan governor in 2022. Attorney General Dana Nessel will talk to reporters Thursday. Charges were filed Tuesday in a suburban Detroit. Shawn Wilmoth, Jamie Wilmoth and Willie Reed each face more than 20 charges, including election forgery and conducting a criminal enterprise. Former Detroit police Chief James Craig and businessman Perry Johnson were considered to be strong candidates for the Republican nomination for governor. But then election officials found their petitions were rife with bogus signatures collected by paid petition circulators. They didn’t make the ballot.