MECOSTA COUNTY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In the tangled mess of corporate and local politics, court documents in the case “Gotion Inc. vs. Green Charter Township” reveal that Gotion Inc. appears to have had an undue influence on public officials in Green Charter Township where a Chinese-linked EV battery plant deal was made.
What started as a seemingly routine negotiation for the new plant has spiraled into a scandal, with allegations of an undisclosed offer of a trip, a secret donation and conflicts of interest. Court documents, complete with exhibits of text messages and deposition testimony that were obtained through the discovery process bolster these claims.
Township leaders accused of unethical deals.
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The case in question involves Gotion Inc. who has an agreement with the Township to build an electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant. Gotion is suing the Township, claiming it breached their development agreement. The Township has responded with a new defense and counterclaim.
In the township’s Motion to Leave document that Michigan News Source has obtained, it outlines how key members of the township’s leadership were engaged in what appears to be unethical and undisclosed dealings with Gotion including an offer of a trip to China, a political campaign donation, and other benefits that were not revealed to the Township Board.
What the Township says.
The lawsuit alleges that during the negotiation of the development agreement, key township leaders, including former Township Supervisor James Chapman, were involved in what the township views as unethical and undisclosed interactions with Gotion. Text messages between Chapman and Chuck Thelen, Gotion Inc.’s Vice President of North American Operations, are central to these claims.
According to the lawsuit, “On August 1, 2023, just hours before the Board meeting at which the ‘first draft’ of the Development Agreement was presented to the Township Board by Chapman, Thelen offered Chapman an all-expenses paid trip to Hefei, China. Chapman did not disclose this offer to the Board.”
Additionally, the document says that on August 1, 2023, the Township Board approved the incomplete first draft of the Development Agreement with Gotion Inc. and gave Supervisor Chapman permission to finalize the terms, conditions, and reimbursement fees. However, Chapman mistakenly thought this gave him the freedom to make any changes he wanted, using only his personal judgment, and started negotiating with Thelen without the Board’s supervision.
Texts also reveal that on August 14, 2023, while Chapman was in discussions with Thelen about the development agreement, Thelen and his wife were planning to donate $1,000 to Chapman’s recall campaign fund. Additionally, Thelen extended an invitation to Chapman for a golf outing. These claims are supported by email screenshots included in the exhibits provided.
The court document goes on to say that Chapman didn’t disclose any of the monetary contributions or other offers to the Board “which at this time had no cause to believe that Chapman possessed a conflict of interest that would otherwise disqualify him from participating in the negotiation of a contract on behalf of the township.”
Just the News received a response from Chapman about the donation saying, “I never received any contributions from Gotion.” He added, “I have never accepted any enticement of any kind from Gotion or any other group. Gotion considered a trip to see their plant for a group of local people. I was on the list but chose not to go. The trip never happened.”
A $2 million-dollar land deal that’s hard to miss.
In addition to Chapman’s actions that were described in the court documents, former Trustee Dale Jernstadt is accused of having a significant financial interest in the success of Gotion’s project, but this conflict of interest was also not disclosed.
The court document states, “The deposition of former Trustee Dale Jernstadt also revealed that he had signed an option contract with Gotion in September of 2022 to purchase land he owned in the Gotion Project area. Jernstadt understood the offer was contingent on the successful siting of the Gotion Project, at which point Gotion would pay Jernstadt a purchase price of $2,000,000.00 for Jernstadt’s property, which Jernstadt reportedly purchased for $180,000.00 in 2012.”
The document goes on to say, “Jernstadt participated in several key decision related to Gotion’s Project – including voting in favor of the December 2022 Support Resolution, the Development Agreement, and the October 2023 approval of Gotion’s water plans – all without disclosing his staggering personal pecuniary interest in the successful siting of the Project.”
Gotion’s political power play.
The final fact listed in the court document says, “Deposition testimony from Chapman and Thelen also revealed that Gotion had engaged in significant political activity following the execution of the Development Agreement, including by coordinating and equipping pro-Gotion rallies, providing legal assistance to voter referendum efforts, and hosting virtual town hall meetings to improve Gotion’s perception in the community, all in violation of Gotion’s obligation under the purported Development Agreement to ‘not support or encourage any activity which supports or encourages any political philosophy amongst its employees or the Big Rapids community.’”
Thelen, in his deposition, called one of the pro-Gotion events that took place across the street from a Mike Rogers rally in the township in August 2024 a “celebration” and not a protest or political event. Thelen is photographed at the event along with people holding pre-printed signs that say, “Yes Gotion. Go for Jobs. Go Future.” These signs, about 100 in total, Thelen admitted, came from a company that Gotion’s PR firm worked with to get them made.
Township fires back: seeks to void development deal.
Because of these newly discovered facts that were found during the discovery process, the township is now seeking permission from the court to amend its original response and add a counterclaim against Gotion, saying the company breached the agreement by engaging in improper political activities and that the township was misled during the entire process.
In simple terms, this is a battle over whether the township should be held to the development agreement or whether what the township considers to be unethical behavior by both Gotion and some township officials voids the deal.
In legal terms, the document says, “These facts, among others uncovered during discovery, reveal that at least two of the former Board members possessed undisclosed and disqualifying conflicts of interest, and that Gotion significantly breached the purported Development Agreement, which gives rise to new defenses and a counterclaim for breach of contract against Gotion.”
Ex-Ambassador sounds alarm on CCP influence.
Former Ambassador Joseph Cella of the Michigan-China Economic and Security Review Group told Just the News about the new information in the court filings, “The filings with the court seem to reveal that PRC-based and CCP-tied Gotion will stop at nothing to get their way – including what appears to be corrupt practices and enrichment of public officials. From the outset, this has had all of the markings of a subnational incursion and influence operation led by PRC-based and CCP-tied entities and operatives.
Cella went on to say, “This is precisely why our national security and intelligence agencies warned a bi-partisan group of state and local elected officials and business leaders about the grave risks of engaging in seemingly benign business deals with companies based in the PRC.”
A township that sold out to the highest bidder?
The discovery process in this lawsuit has laid bare the disconcerting reality of what went down in Green Charter Township by officials who were supposed to represent the interests of the township’s residents but appear to some as being too busy lining their own pockets to do the job they were elected to do.
Michigan News Source reached out to the Gotion spokesperson but they don’t comment on pending legal matters.
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