LANSING — An employee of an embattled business accelerator that received a $20 million state earmark raised concerns with Michigan’s economic development leader but said she suspected nothing would be done because her boss and the official were friends, newly released court records show.
The documents also show that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s chief of staff apologized in person to the Arab American Chamber of Commerce, which had sought the funding that went to the nonprofit that was formed by the chamber’s then-executive director, Fay Beydoun, when the 2022-23 budget was finalized.
The documents shed new light on the investigation of Beydoun for embezzlement, a probe that began after The Detroit News published stories scrutinizing the grant. Charges have not been filed by state Attorney General Dana Nessel…