Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has suffered another legal setback in his long-running restitution battle after a federal judge ordered more than $13,000 from a Comerica Bank account linked to him to be turned over to the government.
According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, on May 28 a judge signed a garnishment order directing Comerica Bank to remit $13,167 held in an account associated with Pathfinder Consulting LLC, listed as a nominee of Kilpatrick. The funds will be applied toward the restitution Kilpatrick still owes as part of his federal criminal case, CBS News reported.
The ruling comes years after Kilpatrick’s conviction on corruption-related charges. In 2013, he was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison for crimes including wire fraud and tax violations stemming from his time as Detroit mayor. Although President Donald Trump granted Kilpatrick clemency in January 2021, ending the remainder of his prison sentence, the restitution order remained in place. Trump did not pardon Kilpatrick.
Earlier this year, Kilpatrick agreed to pay $823,649.09 in restitution to the city of Detroit, a figure significantly higher than the roughly $155,000 he had previously argued was owed. As part of that agreement, Kilpatrick acknowledged that pension benefits and other income sources could be garnished to satisfy the debt.
The latest dispute centered on a business checking account discovered by federal authorities. Kilpatrick objected to the garnishment, arguing that he did not own the account and that the assets belonged to his wife, LaTicia Kilpatrick, who manages the business.
The judge was not persuaded by that argument.
In the court’s ruling, the objection was overruled, allowing the government to move forward with seizing the funds. The order requires Comerica Bank to transfer the money to the United States, where it will be deposited with the court and distributed according to the restitution judgment.
While Kilpatrick’s prison sentence ended through presidential clemency, federal authorities continue pursuing restitution payments, using garnishment orders and other collection methods to recover funds owed under the court judgment.
