Karen Spranger
Karen Spranger
Macomb County Clerk Karen Spranger finds herself in more trouble.
The unpopular clerk is under investigation by the Macomb County Sheriff's Department after questions were raised whether she improperly used taxpayer funds to pay for someone who does not work for the county to attend a national convention earlier this month in Washington, D.C., along with her and her chief deputy, Omar Abdel-Baqui and Frank Witsil of the Detroit Free Press report.
"On the surface, it appears to be fraud," county Deputy Executive Mark Deldin tells the Free Press. "That's what the sheriff is going to have detectives investigate. But, on the surface, it appears that it was a misappropriation of county funds."
According to Deldin, an invoice from the National Association of Counties shows that on March 1, Spranger paid for herself, Deputy Chief Register of Deeds Jacqueline Ryan and a third person, "Niki Brandenburg," to attend the organization's national conference.
Deldin tells the paper that the name Brandenburg may be former commissioner Nicki — or Nicholyn — Brandenburg, who lost her seat in 2006. The conference cost $650 per person, and it would have been improper to use public money to pay for her, Deldin says.
Spranger's short reign in office is filled with countless controversies. Macomb officials have gone to court to try and remove her from office, claiming she lied about her residency when she ran for office in 2016.
