Bertrand Township Supervisor John Mefford believes he is the victim of fraud at the hands of a woman and her daughter.

According to a Michigan State Police report filed Feb. 21, Mefford and Township Trustee Dick Haigh have given thousands of dollars to the women to help fund their medical care and other necessary expenses.

Mefford and Haigh were told by the women that they would be given power of attorney over funds the women were to receive for being witnesses in drug cases in the area. Mefford said the mother told him they were in the Witness Protection Program and were expecting more than $1 million between the two of them.

In an interview with the Star Tuesday, Mefford said he has known the women for at least 25 years and considered them close friends.

Mefford believed he had signed all the documents needed to get power of attorney but has not recouped any of the money yet, which is why he filed the complaint. According to the report, he has given the women between $20,000 and $30,000. Once Mefford began running low on funds, Haigh helped by adding $31,650, according to the report.

Mefford said that they did not have a contract or written agreement with the women. Mefford also said he has quit giving money to the mother and daughter.

“I was trying to help two people that needed a friend,” Mefford said. “That’s what I get for trusting people I think were friends.”

Mefford also said neither of the women were the recipient of the alleged bad checks that he was arrested for last month.

During an interview with State Police Trooper Michael McCarthy referenced in the police report, the trooper asked Mefford and Haigh if they were receiving sexual favors for the money. Both said they were not.

In interviews Tuesday, both Mefford and Haigh again denied any sexual involvement with the women.

One of the women, though, told police she has been in a sexual relationship with Mefford for years, according to the report.

Mefford said he believes the woman is bi-polar and lied about them having a sexual relationship.

Mefford also registered two prior complaints of harassing telephone calls from the mother. He alleged that the woman would call all of his phone numbers, including at Bertrand Township Hall.

Clerk Jane Lano said in a phone interview Tuesday that calls from a woman claiming to be John Mefford’s girlfriend have been frequent since Lano began working for the township two years ago.

Lano said she has asked Mefford to have the woman stop calling the office.

“It’s become a huge distraction and keeps him from focusing on his work,” she said. “It’s just bizarre.”

Mefford claims Lano would become “aggressive and nasty” after phone calls from the woman came to the office, and it made for a stressful work environment.

“There is no excuse for grown people to do that,” he said.

Mefford said when the calls became more frequent, he asked the secretary to stop fielding calls from the woman’s number. But Lano said he eventually asked that the secretary stop taking calls from any number with a 574 area code.

“That is not acceptable conduct in a public office,” Lano said.

Mefford and Haigh also believe that Lano tipped off the media by sending copies of the police report to local news outlets in an attempt to smear them. The Daily Star received in the mail an anonymous letter with copies of the report, which were confirmed as valid by a trooper with the Michigan State Police.

“She (Lano) hates John and is trying to get him out of office,” Haigh said.

Lano denies sending the letter to the media and said she obtained the report via the Freedom of Information Act. But she said she made the issue public at a recent board meeting when she advised residents that they could request a copy of the report from her. Lano estimates she has given copies of the report to more than a dozen residents.

“Any one of them could have sent it (to the media),” she said.

All current Bertrand Township board members are facing recall efforts. Recall elections for Mefford, Haigh and Trustee David Zelmer are slated for May 3. Former Treasurer Linda Layher was also targeted for recall but resigned last month. Wording for the recall against Lano was approved by the county on Tuesday.