Former Mayor Found Guilty in Bribery and Campaign Fraud Plot

Richard Sollars, ex-Mayor of Taylor, Michigan, accepted over $85K in bribes and misused campaign funds for personal gain.Photo byMitchell LawleronUnsplash

Richard Sollars was sentenced to 71 months in prison for conspiring to accept bribes and engaging in wire fraud while he was the Mayor of the City of Taylor, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan announced today.

Between 2016 and 2018, Richard Sollars, 50, used his authority as Mayor of Taylor, Michigan, to recommend that the City Council award tax-foreclosed properties to Realty Transition, a company owned by his co-defendant, Shady Awad, the U.S. Attorney's Office stated.

The department noted that these properties were part of Taylor's Right of First Refusal (ROFR) program, which was designed to allow the city to acquire tax-foreclosed properties from Wayne County for redevelopment.

According to the department, Sollars recommended Realty Transition for these awards with the intent of being influenced and rewarded by personal benefits provided by Awad. The department revealed that these bribes included home improvements to Sollars' residence, office, and lake house.

The U.S. Attorney's Office reported that after an evidentiary hearing, the court determined Sollars had accepted bribes totaling $85,011.73 from Awad.

The department cited that these bribes included home renovations, kitchen appliances, a washer and dryer, a Dyson vacuum cleaner, a camera, and cash payments.

Additionally, Sollars was involved in defrauding his political donors by using campaign funds for personal benefit, the department stated. Sollars set up a campaign account titled "Committee to Elect Richard Sollars, Jr." and directed his campaign treasurer to provide him with signed blank checks, according to the department.

The U.S. Attorney's Office further explained that Sollars made the checks payable to Dominick’s Market, falsely claiming they were for catering services.

Instead, the owner of Dominick's, Hadir Altoon, prepared fake invoices, and Sollars pocketed most or all of the proceeds from the checks. The department added that the court found Sollars received $70,362.98 from these wire fraud schemes involving his campaign account.

“Sollars, as the Mayor of the City of Taylor, pledged to represent the best interests of the citizens he represented and the voters who supported him. Instead, he used his elected office to award city contracts and spend campaign funds for his own personal financial enrichment,” said United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison in a statement.

“Sollars’s conviction and sentence demonstrate my office’s commitment to ensuring that those elected officials who place their own greed above their duties to the citizens in the community will be held to answer for their breach of trust.”