A former candidate for the state House of Representatives who embezzled nearly $150,000 of campaign funds from Oakland County treasurer Andy Meisner has been sentenced to probation and ordered to repay the stolen money.

On Tuesday in Oakland County Circuit Court, Judge Nanci Grant ordered Jennifer Suidan, 34 of Wolverine Lake, to serve five years probation and make consistent, monthly payments to cover $98,304 she stole from Meisner and $51,000 she stole from the Goodman Acker law firm, which Meisner had hired to manage his campaign funds. Suidan had gained access to the funds — including the law firm’s retainer that Meisner was charged — while she was employed at Goodman Acker, writing 67 bogus checks and making ATM withdrawals.

Suidan, who had an unsuccessful run in last November’s election for state representative of Oakland County’s 39th District, faced up to 20 years in prison after pleading no contest in March to the embezzlement charge. At the sentencing hearing, Grant said keeping her out of jail so she could pay back the money was preferable to locking her up — yet warned Suidan that if she didn’t maintain regular payments for restitution she’d find herself behind bars. Grant also ordered her to serve 100 hours of community service, participate in mental health treatment and write letters of apology to Meisner and Goodman Acker.

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In his victim impact statement to the court, Jordan Acker of Goodman Acker spoke about the deep pain he suffered due to Suidan’s betrayal of his and his family’s trust and friendship. “On September 12 (2018) when I found out (about the embezzlement), I couldn’t believe it. It stung like 1,000 cuts at once...this wasn’t Jenny my friend who got in trouble. This was the Jenny who told lies, who couldn’t tell the truth,” he said.

Before hearing her fate, Suidan said she spent the stolen money “on everyday things...to fill the empty void feeling in my life.” She also said she was committed to “making up for the enormous, egregious series of errors” and the hurt she had caused.

Grant took issue with Suidan describing her actions as “errors.”

“You did not commit a series of errors. You committed a series of crimes...you did it to a friend of yours — you violated that trust, and you violated Andrew Meisner’s trust horribly,” Grant said.

The case against Suidan began to unfold last September when discrepancies were detected at Goodman Acker. At that point, Suidan had taken a leave of absence to focus on her campaign, but was subsequently fired and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office was contacted.

Outside of court, Suidan’s attorney John Dakmak said: “There’s no excuse for what happened — she’s taken responsibility for it. From the very beginning, she’s been very remorseful. She is truly sorry.”

Meisner did not attend the sentencing hearing and didn’t immediately return calls from The Oakland Press seeking comment.

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