Kwame Kilpatrick is under federal investigation for unpaid restitution to City of Detroit

It seems like former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick just can’t get it together. Kilpatrick is under federal investigation again, just over a year after having his 28-year prison sentence commuted by former President Donald Trump.

Federal prosecutors opened the investigation Thursday in an effort to recover nearly $2 million in unpaid restitution Kilpatrick owes to the City of Detroit and Internal Revenue Services.

We guess Kilpatrick didn’t learn much from his time spent in federal prison for racketeering conspiracy in 2013, because his behavior after being released has been strange, to say the least.

Just last week Kilpatrick and his new wife set up a crowdfunding campaign to help them purchase a house in Orlando, Florida. The initial fundraising goal was $800,000 and the couple asked the public for donations of $8,000, Deadline Detroit reported.

The crowdfunding post was later modified with the $800,000 goal removed.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Anjali Prasad told Fox 2 Detroit the feds would intervene if Kilpatrick's crowdfunding campaign was successful.

"The federal government will treat this as something known as substantial resources," she said. "A substantial resource is basically, you win the Lotto, you get an inheritance, you get $800,000 (in) donation(s) for whatever reason. This is a substantial resource, which the United States of America can then lay claim to."

Kilpatrick was just in Detroit last weekend signing copies of his new book on the Avenue of Fashion as if he did not owe the city or people of Detroit anything.

The Detroit News reported Kilpatrick still owed $1.5 million to the city and $195,000 to the IRS at the time of his release. Getting his sentence commuted didn’t negate his debts. And this is just a small part of the debt accumulated by Kilpatrick from other criminal convictions, unpaid taxes, and attorney fees.

Even more puzzling, the former mayor and several relatives founded nonprofits in Georgia shortly after his release. Remember, Kilpatrick was also previously convicted of violating nonprofit laws and spending donations on everything from personal vacations to paying his relatives’ college tuition.

The Detroit News reports Kilpatrick and his second wife, Laticia Maria McGee, are listed as the owners of the new nonprofit, Movement Ministries, and the registered address is for a UPS in a Fayetteville strip mall. Another nonprofit ministry was registered at the same address earlier this year by Ayanna Kilpatrick — the same name as his sister.

According to the News, Kilpatrick has not made a payment toward his restitution owed to Detroit in nine years.

Stay connected with Detroit Metro Times. Subscribe to our newsletters, and follow us on Google News, Apple News, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, or TikTok.