Feds claim Kwame Kilpatrick is lying about address to 'waste time and resources'

Kwame Kilpatrick speaks at Oakland County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was a featured speaker at the Oakland County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner. He backed Donald Trump for president, spoke about his fall from grace, and how he found God while in jail.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Federal authorities allege that embattled former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is lying about his address as he tries to transfer his restitution case out of Michigan.

In a new court filing, the Department of Justice accuses Kilpatrick of living in Michigan while saying that he lives in Georgia, where he wants a hearing to address the issue.

Kilpatrick owes more than $1.5 million in restitution after he was convicted of corruption while leading Detroit. He was also sentenced to 28 years in prison, but was released after then-President Donald Trump granted him clemency in 2021. He was ordered to three years of supervision and still must pay the restitution.

Several pieces of evidence are included in the court filing that feds say prove Kilpatrick does not live in Georgia, including forwarded and returned mail.

According to the filing, mail sent to Kilpratick in Georgia was re-routed to Michigan, and court mail is directed to Northville, feds say. Also, the home where Kilpatrick says he lives in Georgia "is listed for sale and appears to be staged or vacant." As of Thursday, Zillow shows that the home is under contract after hitting the market in June.

Feds also noted how Kilpatrick has been photographed attending several events in Metro Detroit in March and June. The court filing also referenced a Metro Times article from January 2024, after Kilpatrick's wife bought a house in Novi.

"Mr. Kilpatrick appeared to make preparations for a return to metro Detroit in January of 2024," the filing said.

The documents were filed Wednesday, just hours before he was again spotted in Michigan - this time to speak at the Oakland County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner.

"The government strongly suspects he simply seeks to delay the inevitable, and only waste time and resources," the feds wrote of the request to move the case out of Michigan. "This Court is most familiar with Mr. Kilpatrick’s case and is best suited to retain jurisdiction for further enforcement as necessary. Even if Kilpatrick can establish residency in Georgia, transfer would still not be appropriate."

In late 2022, Kilpatrick claimed in a motion that restitution had been paid through liquidated and seized liquid assets from co-defendant Bobby Ferguson. In that denied motion, he requested to be released from supervision.

Reasons cited in the motion included that he attended programs while in prison, he has no recent criminal activity, he has taken up a role in his church, and there is no evidence he is a risk to the public, to name a few. The motion also noted that Kilpatrick is a father to a new son, and he may struggle to provide for his family if the motion is not granted.