Metro Detroit Businesswoman Used $20M State Grant For Lavish Spending: Attorney General

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI — A Detroit-area businesswoman is facing charges after using a $20 million state business grant for her own lavish spending, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Fay Beydoun, 62, of Farmington Hills, was charged with:

• One count of conducting a criminal enterprise (20-year felony)
• Seven counts of uttering and publishing (14-year felony)
• One count of forgery (14-year felony)
• One count of larceny by conversion, more than $20,000 (10-year felony)
• Six counts of larceny by conversion, $1,000 to $20,000 (5-year felony)

"The process by which this ‘grant’ was proposed, developed, awarded, and administered bears practically zero semblance to the traditional grant process, and was only made possible through a system that pairs political cronyism with minimal oversight," Nessel said.

While serving on the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Executive Committee in 2022, prosecutors said Beydoun secured a $20 million grant to create a global business accelerator in Oakland County.

The business, Global Link International, was supposed to attract foreign companies to Michigan. However, prosecutors said no businesses relocated to Michigan through Global Link's efforts. Instead, they said Beydoun used money from the grant for her personal gain, including maintaining a $550,000 annual salary.

She also presented a phony $40,800 lease to the MEDC and used grant funds to buy two handmade Tunisian rugs for $6,000, host private dinners for $1,000 and $2,000 incurred on two separate occasions in 2023 and buy $5,000 worth of furniture, according to prosecutors.

Beydoun's lawyers at Flood Law Firm denied the charges.

"For the last six months, our firm has attempted to demonstrate the illogical nature of the allegations against Ms. Beydoun to the Michigan Department of Attorney General," Beydoun's lawyers said in a statement. "Despite those efforts, it is evident that certain parties felt the need to further this very public spectacle in a way that is neither supported by the evidence that we have seen nor the investigative materials we possess. As always, we will save our best arguments for the courtroom and pursue every avenue available for our client."

Beydoun, who was appointed to the MEDC decision-making body by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, is well-connected politically. She is a longtime Whitmer donor and even hosted a fundraiser for the governor at her home, raising $13,500, WXYZ reported.

Though Nessel noted Beydoun used her political connections to get the grant, she has not accused Whitmer or other lawmakers of any wrongdoing.

"While it’s clear to us that Fay Beydoun used her political connections to get this grant, we don’t have evidence that people knew that she planned to misappropriate the money or to spend the money illegally," Nessel said. "We don’t have evidence of that."

Whitmer’s office told Fox 2 Detroit the misuse of taxpayer dollars has no place in Lansing.

"Anyone who receives taxpayer dollars must follow the law and use those resources appropriately. If that does not happen and someone defrauds the state, they must be held accountable under the law. This was a grant sponsored by Republican Speaker of the House Jason Wentworth, and the second time a grant of his has resulted in charges. Attorney General Nessel is working to bring justice and she is helping the state recover taxpayer dollars," the statement reads.