Exonerated Man Accuses Michigan Attorney General Of Retaliation By Seizing His Nonprofit

Mark Craighead says the attorney general wants to control the nonprofit since he received funds of the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act.

Mark Craighead, who spent seven years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit, is accusing the Michigan Attorney General’s office of retaliatory practices by attempting to take over his nonprofit’s assets, Detroit Metro Times reports.

In a case filed by Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office, the office hopes to take control of Craighead’s nonprofit, the Safe Place Transition Center, by claiming he is improperly using funds. The business owner insists the move is a form of retaliation since he was the recipient of the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act (WICA) in 2023, created by state lawmakers to assist wrongfully convicted people take back their lives.

As a result, Craighead received $360,000. He claims he used his own money that helped launch the nonprofit, fixing properties and paying off necessary expenses like gas. Calling the accusations against him “baseless,” Craighead says the nonprofit reimbursed him. “Everything that came out of Safe Place, it came from me first,” Craighead says.

“I eventually got paid back. The board approved the money to me.”

The successful nonprofit provides housing assistance to formerly incarcerated residents and veterans, with several properties under its belt with below-market rent for those who need it. In addition to housing, Craighead and his hand out food to close to 200 low-income people in Mount Clemens two times a month.

However, Nessel’s office said the case relates to a 2020 complaint filed by another individual, who claimed the former inmate “pocketed over $200,000 from money intended to help needy individuals of the community.” After the state launched an investigation, it was revealed Safe Place and Craighead failed to provide required legal information, prompting for the AG to try and take control of the group’s assets.

Spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, Kimberly Bush, said, while denying Craighead’s accusations that the unit handling Safe Place’s case is the office’s Charitable Trust Unit, which is separate from the WICA unit.

Craighead continues to stand his ground saying he hasn’t done anything wrong. Since he says his last run in with law enforcement led to a false confession and wrongful conviction, he is determined to not let it happen again, calling the system “corrupt.” “They did whatever they wanted to do in the past,” Craighead said.

“I’m not going to let it happen again. It’s a corrupt system.”

This is one of two battles that the nonprofit owner is working through. According to Fox 2 Detroit, Craighead and Lamar Monson, who was also wrongfully convicted, protested in front of the Detroit Police Department to call for an investigation into the work of retired detective Barbara Simon. As part of the “Freedom Ain’t Free” movement, the men are accusing the former detective of perjury, illegally detaining suspects, and coercing them — and two others — into making false confessions.