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T Hughes says Deb Mikula embezzled public funds

January 19, 2024

Deb Mikula, until late December 2023, was vice-chair of the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC). When MACC Director Alison Watson was promoted to her position, Mikula presented her with a bottle of rum.[1] The MACC, including Mikula, also gave newly promoted Watson unprecedented grantmaking power.[2] As you can see from the linked documents, Mikula and Watson had worked together at other organizations and were close. After Watson’s promotion, Mikula used her position to fraudulently embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars of public money for personal gain. As an insult to injury, Mikula’s organizations’ grants were part of the handful of non-competitive, invitation-only funding MACC distributes. Although I was successful in my Board of Ethics (BOE) complaint regarding some of Mikula’s conduct, the crimes listed here have yet to be adjudicated because of the BOE’s limited jurisdiction. Watson was Mikula’s co-conspirator for all of her crimes. Watson is still paid with our tax dollars and has faced zero consequences despite Nessel’s office being well aware of the crimes. Nessel’s office defended Mikula at a BOE hearing. We taxpayers have funded it all, including paying for Mikula’s defense. Her BOE responsive statement included an interesting irregularity: the MACC funding plan covered a different year than the other documents. This switcheroo veiled Mikula’s unlawful financial gain.

To put the following into perspective, last year Monique Owens, of Eastpointe MI, made 2 false statements on a taxpayer funded grants application including that her organization was veteran owned and that she had between 100-249 employees.[3]  Owens grant was for $10,000.  In contrast, Mikula, made several false statements on taxpayer funded contracts and took hundreds of thousands of dollars she was ineligible to apply for or receive.

Among the unlawful false statements Mikula has made on taxpayer funded grant contracts include:

1. “the payment set forth in this section shall, at a minimum, be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis from local and/or private sources. The match may include the reasonable value of services, materials, and equipment as allowed under the Federal Internal Revenue Code for charitable contributions, subject also to the pre-approval of such a match by the Council,” from the Terms and Conditions of payment clause of the MACC grants contract. 

2. “Grantee shall comply with the applicable administrative requirements for grants in aid and use cost accounting principles which comply with Federal requirements as set forth in 2 CFR Chapter I, Chapter II part 200 Uniform Administrative requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards” from the Account and Administrative Requirements clause of MACC grants.

3. “Grantee certifies compliance with” state and federal civil rights laws and “agrees to state in all promotional materials, advertisements, and recruiting materials its equal opportunity policies,” from the Equal Opportunity MACC grants clause.

4. Under the MACC grant contract Governance clause, the “grant is governed by the State of Michigan” and that the “grantee agrees to inform the Council in writing immediately of any proposed changes of dates, budget, or services indicated in this Grant agreement.” And that such changes are subject to Council approval.

5. Under the MACC grant contract Compliance with Laws clause, it states “grantee shall otherwise be in compliance at all times with all applicable federal laws, regulations, rules and orders.”

6. “applicant agrees to take steps necessary to correct any underrepresentation reported on the status report;” 

7. applicant agrees to “achieve a reasonably representative work force at all levels of employment;”

8. applicant “agrees in all recruiting materials and advertisements to state that all job applicants will receive equal consideration for employment; and

9. applicant “agrees in all promotional materials and advertisements to state that all programs, activities and services will be provided equally” on the Assurances grant document.[1]

$27,000 of taxpayer money went directly into Mikula’s pocket. Watson signed off on every fraudulent contract, embezzling nearly half a million worth of taxpayer funds. MACC members sat by and did nothing. This went on for years, and while deserving, genuine ARTS organizations competed for mere percentages of the grants funds the won, Mikula’s organizations received increased funding. MACC let Mikula steal hundreds of thousands of dollars, without any competition or accountability. The members are all complicit, as is the state.