State News

Ex-Campaign Consultant Tries to Use Attorney General Nessel to Extort Money

September 06, 2019, 8:09 AM

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Dana Nessel

A former IT consultant for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's campaign in 2018 is being accused in a federal lawsuit of being behind an exortion plot.

Dmitriy Movsesyan, an IT consultant for Nessel's 2018 election campaign, is the at the center of the suit filed by Maher Waad, owner of Executive Car Rental, which has multiple locations and has been the subject of hundreds of consumer complaints.

Joe Guillen of the Detroit Free Press reports:

As recently as this week, Movsesyan has been demanding payment from the owner of a local car rental company that Nessel's office investigated for unlawful business practices. In exchange for money, Movsesyan claimed he could leverage his relationship with Nessel and alleviate scrutiny on the business, Executive Car Rental, according to the lawsuit.

Movsesyan even offered the rental company's owner, Maher Waad, evidence of his ties to Nessel, texting a selfie taken in May with Nessel in the background and the message, “Oh look, it’s your favorite attorney general in my back seat.”

The company was the subject hundreds of consumer complaints, prompting the owner in March to reach a settlement with Nessel's office that included a $39,500 payment. Nessel's office later received more complaints and threatened a lawsuit in August for violating the settlement agreement, the Freep reports. Thursday was the deadline for Executive Car Rental to respond to the attorney general.

Waad paid Movsesyan $3,000 to back off. 

Executive Car Rental's attorney, Steven Haney, tells the Freep there is no evidence that Nessel was aware of Movsesyan's actions.


Read more:  Detroit Free Press


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