DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Michigan Attorney General’s office confirms to 7 Action News they’ve been asking questions since February about a nonprofit agency at the center of a controversy involving Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, city grants and Dr. Sonia Hassan to whom the mayor has been personally linked.
“I’m told the AG sent a letter asking them to respond by May 22 and they’re going to respond by May 22,” Mayor Duggan said Wednesday afternoon,
The questions center on a nonprofit called Make Your Date that was given $385,000 in grant money by the city directed by Mayor Duggan.
The Mayor insists the entity he did business with was operated by Wayne State University, not a separate nonprofit.
“Wayne State runs the Make Your Date program. Has for 5 years. Every dollar has gone to Wayne State,” the Mayor said.
Make Your Date was formed to address premature birth in Detroit and was headed up by Dr. Sonia Hassan, a noted Pediatrician. She’s the woman Mayor Duggan allegedly visited when he was recorded by a private investigator driving out to the Novi, Northville area last year.
Mayor Duggan says there was no favoritism to Dr. Hassan adding, “The only favoritism was the finest pre-term birth research institution in America. Dr. Hassan never received a dollar. We’ve got an individual, doctor who volunteered her time to help women and never accepted a dollar.”
The mayor still refuses to answer questions about his relationship with Dr. Hassan. Duggan and his wife Lori Maher announced last weekthey are divorcing.
We received this statement from the Attorney General:
The Department of the Attorney General has reached out to Make Your Date on two different occasions to determine its status as a charitable organization as it hasn’t registered with the state as required. We sent our initially letter February 13, 2019, which they have not responded to. We sent a second letter April 22, which they have also not responded to – but I believe they have 60 days to respond. We are not investigating the organization at this point but instead are simply seeking to get the necessary information to determine their status as a charitable organization.
