LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Dana Nessel’s Attorney General office did a “seemingly cursory investigation” into a complaint filed that an ally of the AG had embezzled money from an elderly, disabled woman, according to a report conducted by Republican staff attorneys.
House Oversight Committee and Nessel’s conflict of interest.
The case drew the attention of the state’s House Oversight Committee in December because it involved a claim that Nessel had a conflict of interest.
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The case involves Rose Burd, who was described as an elderly—and legally incapacitated—woman. Burd’s court-appointed conservator was Traci Kornak, served as the former treasurer of the state Democratic Party and had served on Nessel’s transition team. Burd died in April 2025.
The GOP’s report on the AG’s investigation stated the AG’s investigators never interviewed Burd, didn’t do much more than interview Kornak and took her at her word and never issued any subpoenas. The GOP report stated that two divisions of the AG’s office investigated and closed the file without charges.
In addition, the GOP report in December said that the Kent County Sheriff’s office also investigated Kornak’s handling of Burd’s finances. The sheriff’s investigation involved multiple subpoenas and interviews and recommended filing multiple felony charges against Kornak, including embezzlement and identity theft.
The Republican report also said that Nessel intervened in the case by telling investigators the investigation was holding up a potential court-appointment for Kornak.
The Michigan Attorney General’s office didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.
Nessel’s office responds.
However, the AG’s office did send a letter to the Detroit News about an article they published on the Kornak investigation.
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The letter stated: “Of the investigation into Traci Kornak, no criminal wrongdoing was found by the Department’s investigation. Two separate divisions investigated the matter, the Financial Crimes Division and the Health Care Fraud Division. By the time reports were delivered to the Attorney General, all investigative action was completed, and the investigation was concluded.”
The letter continued: “The Attorney General did not pressure Department attorneys to close the investigation, which was already concluded by the time of the cited communications, nor to close the ‘file,’ which had already been in the process of closure for weeks. A critical component to the closing of the investigation was a lack of cooperating complainant. The complainant in this matter, quoted by the Detroit News, never returned a single phone call from Department investigators. The claims of the complainant were never substantiated by the investigation and the investigation was concluded long before December 5.”
The letter stated it was “categorically false” to say Nessel pressured her staff to close the investigation.
