Engler adviser: Nassar survivor's claims of payout 'fake news'

In e-mails sent to the MSU Board of Trustees over the weekend, Interim President John Engler’s special counsel criticized Larry Nassar's survivors as willing to make outlandish statements in public to drive up settlement amounts and said a claim by one of them that Engler had offered her $250,000 is “fake news.”

The e-mails, which the Free Press obtained from a source in the administration building, started with one sent a day after Kaylee Lorincz, a Nassar survivor, claimed Engler offered her $250,000 to settle her lawsuit against the university in a meeting where Lorincz's attorney was not present.

"Kaylee's statements to the Board contained many false and inaccurate statements, which we did not publicly contradict out of an abundance of concern for the survivors who are quick to claim 'revictimization' or 'shaming' of survivors whenever they are falsely accusing members of the MSU community," the e-mail from Carol Viventi, vice president and special counsel to Engler, said.

The e-mail refers to Lorincz's comments at aFriday board meeting where she described Engler as "bullying her."

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Lorincz, who is one of the more than 200 women and girls suing MSU over Nassar's sexual abuse, said Engler told her and her mother, Lisa, that cooperation between survivors and the university couldn’t occur until settlements in the civil litigation were reached.

"Mr. Engler then looked directly at me and asked, 'Right now, if I wrote you a check for $250,000, would you take it?' " Lorincz said. "When I explained that it’s not about the money for me and that I just want to help, he said, 'Well, give me a number.'

MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant was in the meeting with Engler. In a conversation with Lisa Lorincz in the crowded board room after the meeting Friday, Guerrant said her interpretation had been that Engler wasn't directly offering a settlement but engaging in a “philosophical discussion” about what amount would be acceptable.

Viventi, who was in the meeting Lorincz referred to, tried in the e-mail to board members to clarify and set the record straight about the meeting.

"The President talked to Kaylee's mom on the phone days earlier before they arrived in the reception area demanding a meeting with the President saying they would not leave until they met," the e-mail says. "The meeting began with their pleas (and pleas throughout the meeting) that this meeting be kept 'confidential' and they would 'be in big trouble if it was known that they were meeting with us.' I was surprised this was the same mom that the President had talked to. But I know now that they wanted to meet in person so they could get him to talk to Kaylee, as Bob Young cautioned, to 'set up' MSU."

Young is the former Michigan chief justice hired by Engler to run MSU's defense in the suits against it.

"As to her assertions about (former dean William) Strampel, recall that the president is the person who wanted Strampel to be fired and lose his tenure ... a process that was initiated long before the attorney general filed criminal charges," the e-mail continues. "There is no way he made light of Strampel's actions."

Strampel, who was Nassar's boss, was arrested in late March and faces several charges including neglect of duty.

"Understand that Bob Young advises that the plaintiff attorneys are willing to make bold and false assertions to advance their goal of increasing the cost of settlement," Viventi's e-mail said. "What members of the board say in public can, however unwittingly, advance the plaintiffs' goals and injure the university. When, as here, it is possible to verify whether public assertions made by plaintiffs are true, there should never be a statement in the press by board members that gives credibility to sensational headlines or what can best be described as "false news."

Attorney John Manly, who represents Lorincz, attacked the e-mail chain after the Free Press published its article.

"Ms. Viventi is not only dishonest but her attitude toward the victims is emblematic of the moral sickness that plagues MSU. The fact she is John Engler’s handpicked adviser is very telling. Any reasonable observer has to conclude Engler and Viventi loathe the survivors. The Board should terminate both of them immediately. But they won’t because most of the Board secretly loathes these women too.”

Board member Mitch Lyons thanked Viventi for her e-mail explaining Engler's side of the meeting, but said he wished Engler had acted differently during the board meeting where the allegations were raised.

"I wish the president had refuted her claims immediately instead of letting the Perry Mason moment occur in the board meeting," Lyons wrote. "His silence was deafening."

Board members Brian Mosallam and Dianne Byrum also expressed concerns.

"I believe these actions were self-inflicted mistakes," Byrum wrote. "I am not aware of any board direction or the board's advance knowledge of John's contact with the survivors."

Viventi said Engler was trying to follow the suggestions of those who wanted him to meet with survivors.

"John has been criticized extensively for 'not meeting with survivors,' " she wrote. "The day he walked in the door he was met with a letter from (Lt. Gov. Brian) Calley telling him to meet with survivors, drop all defenses, etc. He was criticized because he didn't meet with any of them for the first few weeks. The timing is unfortunate as the meeting took place weeks ago and we were told they needed it to be confidential. Bob is working very hard to tell our side to the mediator."

Mosallam wasn't buying it.

"This board has a fiduciary obligation to care for this university. Our fiduciary obligation is more than a question of what is legal but includes our judgment of what is in MSU's best interests, morally and ethically. I find this administration's conduct unacceptable.

"At no time did this board authorize this administration to interact directly with our courageous survivors or their families. It is important to remember as officers of this university, this administration, including the Interim President, (spokeswoman) Emily Guerrant and yourself all work for us until we decide otherwise.

"It is imperative that every action a representative of this university takes is a reflection of the standard of ethics that we demand of our students, faculty, staff and ourselves."

Nassar, 54, the MSU doctor accused of molesting dozens of female students and athletes, has been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison on child pornography charges and is in a maximum-security federal prison in Tucson, Ariz. He also faces a 40- to 175-year sentence issued in Ingham County and a 40- to 125-year sentence from Eaton County, where he was charged with a total of 10 sexual assaults. Those sentences will not begin until he finishes the federal sentence.

Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj. Lansing State Journal reporter Matt Mencarini contributed to this report.