County Prosecutor Charges Former Ypsilanti City Manager Frances McMullan With Financial Crimes

Correction: The spelling of Ms. McMullan’s name has been corrected. On August 28, 2025 an update was posted. Ms. McMullan’s case was adjudicated. Read about that here.

by P.D. Lesko

On June 4, 2025, the City of Ypsilanti sent out a press release in which residents were told “the Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney has criminally charged for City Manager Frances McMullan following an investigation by the Michigan State Police.” According to the City of Ypsilanti release, the Michigan State Police investigated allegations that McMullan “embezzled public funds while employed by the City.” On Oct. 12, 2024, the Ann Arbor Independent revealed that former Ypsilanti City Manager Frances McMullan was under investigation by the Michigan State Police for alleged abuse of her city-provided credit card.

In Sept. 2024, the Ann Arbor Independent submitted Freedom of Information Act requests for copies of McMullan’s credit card statements from between 2019 and 2023. The newspaper was initially told that the City’s Finance Dept. did not have copies of McMullan’s credit card statements.

City Attorney John M. Barr obtained McMullan’s credit card statements directly from the bank which had issued the credit card and then turned the credit card statements over to the newspaper.

The Apr.-Dec. 2019 credit card statements show that during eight months in 2019, McMullan took thousands of dollars in cash advances, and charged clothing, shoes, prescriptions and groceries, among other items, to her city-provided credit card.

One of the first charges McMullan made after getting her City of Ypsilanti credit card was $896.37 to Delta Vacations.

Of the charges against McMullan brought by County Prosecutor Eli Savit, Ypsilanti City Manager Andrew Hellenga said, “These events are disappointing and underscore the importance of transparency and accountability, and a robust system of checks and balances.”

Frances McMullan was the City Manager of Ypsilanti from early-2019 to Aug. 2023. During the dozen years prior to 2019, McMullan held a variety of posts within Ypsilanti City government. In addition, McMullan worked for the City of Ann Arbor for 15 years.

McMullan also self-identifies as the “First Lady” of the Restoration Family Worship Center. Her husband, Tracey McMullan, is the pastor at the Worship Center. In 2014, McMullan and her husband registered Restoration Family Worship Center with the State of Michigan as a 501(c)3.

In April 2019, shortly after McMullan was promoted to the position of City Manager, the City of Ypsilanti (for the first time) issued credit cards to its City Manager and City Clerk.

McMullan, who was paid $105,000 per year, reportedly explained her use of the business credit card to pay for over $14,500 in personal expenses within an eight month period by saying she had been “unclear” on the rules concerning the use of her city-provided credit card. She also said she’d reimbursed Ypsilanti for all of the personal charges made using the city-issued credit card.

Credit card statements obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request show that while she was the Ypsilanti City Manager, Frances McMullan used the City’s credit card almost daily to pay for items such as artwork, shoes, beauty supplies, prescriptions and designer clothing. McMullan paid to pull Equifax credit reports. She also used the credit card to pay $4,054 to a banquet hall in Livonia, MI.

Ypsilanti Mayor Nicole Brown said of the charges brought against McMullen, “Although these allegations deeply sadden me, I take them very seriously. We continue to work diligently to be good stewards of our roles.”

Mayor Brown voted to permit McMullan to retire early, and provided her with an exit package that included a guaranteed positive work reference. As a result, McMullen collects two pensions, one from the City of Ann Arbor and one from the City of Ypsilanti.

When interviewed by the media about her departure from her job as City Manager, on Aug. 4, 2023 McMullan was quoted as saying, “I’d like to go on and do some other things and spend some time with my family. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I want to do something different.”

Ypsilanti city staff members said McMullan’s tenure as the City Manager was rocky.

In Feb. 2023, McMullan filed a formal complaint against Mayor Pro-Tem Steve Wilcoxen.

The Michigan State Police’s investigation into McMullen’s alleged financial crimes continues.