Eastpointe Mayor Monique Owens gets 6 months' probation in COVID-19 funds fraud case

Eastpointe Mayor Monique Owens was sentenced Thursday to six months' probation and 100 hours of community service after pleading no contest to a reduced charge related to misusing COVID-19 relief money for her personal business.

But her plea almost was not accepted by Macomb County Circuit Judge Jennifer Faunce after Owens appeared to make comments in court appealing to supporters, rather than to the judge sentencing her.

Faunce told Owens that she "made me really question" whether Owens was taking responsibility. Faunce said Owens was a "disappointment" to the community and the residents of Eastpointe.

Before sentencing, Faunce asked Owens, "Are you talking to TV or me as a judge?" adding that if Owens was contending that she did nothing wrong, the case would proceed differently.

Owens paid $10,000 in restitution to the county in September, when she entered the plea to a lesser charge. Owens' check has cleared, Assistant Prosecutor Kumar Palepu said. He appeared via Zoom along with Owens and her attorney for the sentencing, during which Owens appeared to occasionally smirk.

What Owens was accused of doing illegally

The 39-year-old mayor, who did not make it out of the August primary to advance to Tuesday's general election, has faced controversy during her tenure and is being sued by residents in a separate matter.

Owens pleaded no contest during a pretrial conference two months ago. She was charged with false pretenses from $1,000 to less than $20,000, a five-year felony, but the Prosecutor's Office previously said she pleaded no contest to making a false statement, a one-year misdemeanor.

Owens was accused of falsely stating on a CARES Act grant application through the county in the fall of 2020 that her business, Naturally Funny Talent Agency, was 51% owned by a veteran and had more than 100 employees.

She received $10,000 from the county's federal aid package. She said she planned to use money from the Sustainability Program Grant to rebuild her business and find "new innovative ideas to get my employees back to work by investing in new products and services," according to her grant application.

According to a warrant authorization request from the county Sheriff’s Office, Owens "has never served at any capacity in any of the armed forces, and according to state unemployment records has zero employees other than herself. (Owens) was able to obtain a total of $10,000 based on the falsely indicated representations on the application."

Is she remorseful or not?

Owens' attorney, Gerald Evelyn, asked that Owens' sentence not involve probation as the case played out publicly.

"Ms. Owens is very remorseful," he told the court.

When Owens spoke, though it was difficult to hear her clearly at times in the courtroom, she indicated that even though she pleaded, she was not a problem. She said COVID-19 affected a lot of people and she helped people get past things in that challenging time. She said not to believe the allegations and things people are hearing in the media.

That's when Faunce asked Owens if she was speaking to TV or to her as a judge. Owens said she knew some people made "some mistakes." Palepu suggested Owens and her attorney meet in a breakout room, but Evelyn said he thought his client was commenting about her character, not retreating from her plea.

At one point, Evelyn told Owens, "you recognize this is not the time to talk to your supporters."

Faunce went along with the plea, but sentenced Owens to nonreporting probation and community service with a nonprofit as well more than $700 in fines and costs.

Owens won't be serving as mayor much longer. Eastpointe voters Tuesday elected former City Councilman Michael Klinefelt as the new mayor, according to unofficial results in Tuesday's election. He lost by 19 votes to Owens for mayor in the November 2019 election.

Owens made history as the city’s first Black mayor when she was elected in 2019. She also was the city’s first Black councilwoman two years earlier.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Eastpointe Mayor Monique Owens sentenced in COVID-19 funds fraud case