Kwame Kilpatrick, wife sought donations for home following birth of son

In announcing the birth of their son Kyng Malachi Kilpatrick, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his wife, LaTicia McGee, asked supporters for donations toward a home in Orlando, Florida, according to a June 27 report in Deadline Detroit. 

The couple asked for donations in increments up to $8,000, Deadline Detroit said. The overall fundraising goal for the home was $800,000, Fox 2 reported the next day. 

As of Sunday, the fundraising post on plumfund.com appears to have been modified since those reports. The post no longer includes wish list items, such as donations toward the home, nor a figure for how much money has been donated. 

Fox 2 interviewed former Assistant U.S. Attorney Anjali Prasad, who now runs the Bloomfield Township firm Prasad Legal PLLC. Prasad told the station the federal government would lay claim to the donations for a home because Kilpatrick still owes restitution to the city and Internal Revenue Service. 

Kilpatrick was released from federal prison in January last year after then-President Donald Trump commuted his 28-year sentence, tied for longest in U.S. history for a corrupt public official. Kilpatrick had served seven years on 24 felony convictions based on prosecutors' accusations he participated in a racketeering scheme operated out of Detroit City Hall.

Though his sentence was shortened, Kilpatrick still owed the city $1.5 million and the IRS $195,000 at the time of his release.

More:Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick released from prison after Trump commutes sentence

Kilpatrick announced Kyng's arrival on his Instagram page May 12, telling supporters both Kyng and LaTicia were doing wonderfully after the birth. Kyng was delivered 22 days early. The couple hosted a virtual baby shower June 14. 

The family lives in Georgia, though Kilpatrick occasionally returns to Michigan. He has delivered sermons at Historic Little Rock Baptist Church and he and LaTicia were married at the church last summer. He also has visited New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Pontiac.

More:Report: Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to marry this weekend

The FBI says Kilpatrick and contractor Bobby Ferguson operated a pay to play scheme in which the then-mayor "extorted city vendors, rigged bids, and took bribes," the agency said in an online summary of the case.

The agency said the pair obtained more than $500,000 from the state of Michigan and private donors for organizations they controlled, then spent the money on luxury vacations, spa treatments and golf clubs instead of community programs. 

ckthompson@detroitnews.com