State agencies have launched investigations into alleged embezzlement and frozen some payment activity at the largest Arab American business group in Michigan, which recently fired its executive director.
Last month, on Aug. 21, the Dearborn-based American Arab Chamber of Commerce announced it terminated Bilal Hammoud,its executive director since February 2024, saying that some "funds could not be accounted for." Now, state agencies tell the Detroit Free Press they have launched investigations and reviews of some state funding for the chamber and its business incubator, Tejara, which in recent years has received millions of dollars in state money.
Hammoud was described as Tejara's CEO in a news release from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in May 2025, when
she appointed Hammoud to the Michigan Workforce Development Board. The chamber and Tejara share a similar address, but are listed as separate groups on their Form 990s, tax records show.
"I can confirm the Michigan Department of Attorney General is investigating the matter regarding alleged embezzlement from the American Arab Chamber of Commerce," Danny Wimmer, press secretary for state Attorney General Dana Nessel, told the Free Press. Wimmer did not say how long the investigation will take place or whether any charges may stem from it.
Other state agencies are helping with the investigation. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) said it's "collaborating with both the State Budget Office and the Department of Attorney General in investigating this alleged embezzlement," Danielle Emerson, public relations manager for the MEDC, told the Free Press. "This particular grant program model and processes were reviewed and approved by third parties (Accenture and Guidehouse), and we are reviewing those processes in real time."
After learning about the allegations on Aug. 21, "we immediately froze all payment activity related to the open grant with Tejara and began gathering facts," Emerson said. Three days later, on Aug. 24, "we reached out to the Attorney General’s office to establish an open line of communication to coordinate on any prospective AG investigation."
Emerson of MEDC explained how the grant money was given to Tejara.
"MEDC authorized payments to the correct grant recipient," she said. "Those authorized payments were then disbursed through the state’s SIGMA (Statewide Integrated Governmental Management Application) system to the bank account identified within the grant recipient’s SIGMA profile. Information in those grant recipient profiles is controlled by the customer. MEDC does not have access or control over customer SIGMA accounts."
$3.4 million awarded to Dearborn business group
The MEDC awarded the Chamber's Tejara program $3.43 million in 2023as part of a statewide effort to support entrepreneurial hubs.
"All $3.4 million was distributed to the Arab American Chamber of Commerce, as all relevant milestones were met and sufficient qualified expenditures were demonstrated," Emerson said. "The initial disbursement of about $1.7 million (50% of the grant) was made in March 2024. Successive payments of about $856,000 (25% of the grant) were made in January and July 2026."
MEDC also gave money several years ago to Tejara or the American Arab Chamber of Commerce for "an MEDC sponsorship of an event," Emerson said.
The firing of Hammoud and the investigation come after another case involving alleged improprieties with a former executive director at the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, Fay Beydoun, who worked at the chamber before Hammoud. Beydoun was charged by Nesselin May with 16 criminal counts, including conducting a criminal enterprise, tied to a $20 million grant she received from the state administered through the MEDC for a nonprofit she formed, Global Link International, that was separate from the chamber. In June 2025, Nessel's officeraided the MEDC office in connection with their Beydoun investigation.
Arab American advocates in metro Detroit have expressed concern about the cases, saying it could harm the reputation of community groups.
"The damage extends beyond the Chamber," attorney James Allen, a former chairman of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, said in anarticle in the Arab American News. "Arab American organizations spent generations building credibility in Metropolitan Detroit and throughout Michigan, demonstrating that our community could responsibly steward public and private resources. That reputation is an asset, and it can be squandered."
Hammoud has been active within the Democratic Party and community groups, running in 2022 in the primary for a state House seat that he lost to State Rep. Erin Byrnes. He also once served as Public Engagement Associate in the executive office of Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, working to support Arabic-language ballots in Dearborn, and is on the boards of several groups. In 2024, Hammoud and other Arab American leaders met with Secretary of State Antony Blinkento express their concerns about Israel's attacks in Gaza. In Feb. 2025, Hammoud and others traveled with Whitmerto the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on an investment mission.
Hammoud's attorney, Ray Cassar, said in a statement that Hammoud is cooperating with investigators.
"It is early on in the investigation, but I can tell you that Bilal is a good young man who is deeply sorry for the negative publicity that he has caused," Cassar said. "Both the American Arab Chamber of Commerce and Tejara are great organizations that serve the community in many ways. He has cooperated with the internal investigation and will continue to do so."
State Budget Office has 'zero tolerance' for fraud
The State Budget Office is also reviewing the funds given to the chamber, saying it has deactivated an account tied to the Tejara grant.
"The State of Michigan has a zero-tolerance policy for fraud or misuse of taxpayer dollars," Cole Pachucki, a spokesman for the State Budget Office, told the Detroit Free Press. "Upon learning of allegations that an individual associated with the grant recipient may have improperly redirected grant funds, SBO (State Budget Office) quickly deactivated the account at issue to prevent any further activity. A thorough grant review was swiftly launched to determine what may have occurred and strengthen oversight, controls, and safeguards to help prevent similar issues from occurring in the future."
The State Budget Office is "prepared to fully cooperate with any criminal investigation, and will take appropriate action to hold accountable any individual found to have improperly used or redirected grant funds and pursue the recovery of any taxpayer dollars found to have been misused," Pachucki said.
Tejara received a total of $1.7 million in payments in January and July, out of the $3.4 million awarded in 2023, and also received $217,000 in 2025 through a second grant administered by the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Pachucki added. State officials did not say how much Hammoud may have embezzled; a report by WXYZ-TV, citing unnamed sources, says Hammoud is accused of misappropriating more than $1 million.
“The moment we recognized there was a problem, we acted to protect this institution and the people who depend on it,” Ahmad Chebbani, a cofounder and chairman of the chamber's board, said in a statement to the Free Press provided by publicist Chris Moyer.
Chebbani said he met with members of the state's attorney general's office on Aug. 25 "because we are committed to full cooperation and to being accountable to everyone who places their trust in this chamber.”
In addition, the chamber hired "Warner Norcross + Judd to lead an independent investigation, and referred the matter to the Dearborn Police Department and the Michigan Attorney General’s office," the statement from Moyer read.
Founded in 1992, the American Arab Chamber of Commerce drew national attention in 2003 for holding a U.S.-Arab Economic Forum in Detroit at a time of tensions in the Middle East after the U.S. invaded Iraq. Sec. of State Colin Powell delivered a speech at the event, which sought to improve business ties between the U.S. and the Arab world. The chamber formed Tejara as a "strategic initiative" that is an "innovation and entrepreneurship hub elevating underrepresented and immigrant founders into tomorrow’s leading companies across North America and beyond," the chamber's website says.
In October 2024, the chamber's cofounder and chairman, Ahmad Chebbani, endorsed Kamala Harris for president, drawing criticism from Arab Americans upset over U.S. support for Israeli attacks in Gaza and Lebanon. A few days after his endorsement, the chamber hosted a State Department official at its annual gala dinner.
Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: State probes funds, freezes some payments at Arab American business group
