Federal prosecutors trying to claw back money that former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick still owes taxpayers have zeroed in on a Comerica Bank account holding $13,167. The account is registered to a company called Pathfinder Consulting Firm LLC, according to a recent court filing. Prosecutors say the money could be applied to the roughly $823,649 Kilpatrick has left to pay in restitution, the latest twist in a months long effort to collect on a federal judgment tied to his 2013 conviction.
As first reported by The Detroit News, a Comerica official disclosed the balance in response to a court order seeking assets and identified the account as being in Pathfinder's name. In the filing, prosecutors ask that the bank funds be steered toward Kilpatrick's restitution tab. The paperwork landed alongside other post-judgment asset requests as investigators try to map out every possible source of repayment.
In February, Kilpatrick agreed to a sealed payment plan that set his outstanding restitution at $823,649.09 and allowed the government to keep garnishing his pension and other income, according to CBS Detroit. Those sealed orders capped months of back-and-forth motions over how much he actually owes and how that figure should be calculated.
State business records and the federal filing list Laticia Kilpatrick as the resident agent of Pathfinder Consulting Firm LLC, and public property records show the company as owner of a 5,673-square-foot Novi home valued at about $1 million, reporting by The Detroit News notes. That paper trail linking a consulting firm to high-end real estate offers prosecutors fresh lines of inquiry, although what is on paper does not automatically translate into assets the government can grab.
Prosecutors widen asset sweep
Federal court records show prosecutors have fired off similar asset requests to several financial institutions, including Navy Federal, Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union and Comerica, as they look for any accounts or policies that could help satisfy the judgment, according to ClickOnDetroit. The stepped-up search followed recent court activity and other developments that pushed investigators to revisit where money tied to the case might be sitting.
What the money means legally
The $13,167 sitting at Comerica is only a tiny slice of what Kilpatrick owes, but under federal restitution and debt-collection laws, every discovered dollar can be applied to chip away at the judgment. Courts have already signed off on pension and income garnishments, and prosecutors have previously scrutinized friends and family while trying to track down more assets, CBS Detroit reported. How much of the remaining balance the government can realistically collect will depend on what the documents ultimately show and whether any identified assets are tied up, shielded or belong to other parties.
Hoodline has previously detailed Kilpatrick's attempts to scale back or end restitution, including his December filing asking the court to stop the payments altogether; see Kilpatrick's Push to End Restitution. For now, the Comerica disclosure gives investigators a modest recovery and one more lead in the long-running effort to make Detroit taxpayers whole.
