Rep. DeBoyer MEDC Project Letter
Rep. DeBoyer MEDC Project Letter
Accountability and transparency in state government and its departments are pivotal in maintaining the
public’s trust. When people see questionable practices or outright failures in these areas on our end,
they fail to respect our institutions and their elected leaders in greater numbers.
Given these fundamental truths, I am formally asking you to halt and immediately examine an ongoing
$20 million grant project headed up by Fay Beydoun after recent reports disclosed inappropriate uses
of funds received. These reports included one payment by Beydoun of $4,500 for a coffee maker and
another of $11,000 for a flight to Europe. Over a period of three months, Beydoun paid herself and
another employee a total of $408,000 in taxpayer-funded salaries.
The very nature of this grant was already under questionable circumstances after the state’s normal
process for awarding them was bypassed. Multiple former associates of Beydoun have called for
increased oversight of the funds in question, and a sitting member of the MEDC executive committee
being embroiled in this controversy raises additional issues for the department. Taxpayers across our
state who helped foot the bill for this apparent boondoggle shouldn’t have to wait until $10 million is
gone for these expenses to be reviewed or audited. That accountability should be delivered now. If it
isn’t, frivolous spending will remain unchecked, corruption could go unchallenged and the damage to
our state’s less-than-sterling reputation for government integrity will only get worse.
I look forward to your attention to this matter. Let’s make sure Michigan taxpayers are getting the most
for their dollars instead of trampling their trust.
Sincerely,
Jay DeBoyer
State Representative
63rd District