The Network
This is not one bad actor. It is a network — convicted felons, judges, attorneys, and institutions connected through boards, campaigns, property, and family ties.
Hover any node to trace connections. Click to navigate to that person's page. Toggle nexus types, ownership hulls, cycles, and flow types.
Full analysis with four-nexus breakdown →
graph TB
subgraph TIER1["🔴 Tier 1 — Enterprise Principals"]
BANKS["<b>Brian Banks</b><br/>9 convictions · fake J.D.<br/>Superintendent of both schools"]
HOLLAND["<b>Joseph Holland Jr</b><br/>Drug conviction · MDOC #443789<br/>Banks' romantic partner · all financial roles"]
end
subgraph REVENUE["💰 Revenue Streams"]
PCA["Purpose Charter Academy<br/>K-8 · DPSCD authorized"]
MAC["MacDowell Prep Academy<br/>K-8 · $4.9M state aid"]
STATE(("Michigan<br/>Per-Pupil<br/>Funding"))
end
subgraph EXTRACTION["🏦 Extraction Layer"]
LLC["Purpose Group LLC<br/>Takes 72.67% of revenue"]
FOUNDATION["Purpose Foundation<br/>501c3 · 2 felons all positions"]
BSC["Banks Strategy LLC<br/>Judge campaign payments"]
end
subgraph JUDICIAL["⚖️ Tier 2 — Judicial Cover (9 Judges)"]
MILLER["<b>Judge Miller</b><br/>3rd Circuit · Board Chair"]
YANCEY["<b>Judge Yancey</b><br/>36th Dist · Board Chair"]
A_SABREE["<b>Judge A. Sabree</b><br/>36th Dist · Metro Property"]
AL_SABREE["<b>Judge Al. Sabree</b><br/>3rd Circuit Family"]
S_PERKINS["<b>Judge S. Perkins</b><br/>36th Dist"]
RAMSEY["<b>Judge Ramsey</b><br/>3rd Circuit Criminal"]
EVANS_J["<b>Judge Evans</b><br/>Retired · 21yr mentor"]
MORRIS["<b>Judge Morris</b><br/>Retired · book foreword"]
D_PERKINS["<b>Judge D. Perkins</b><br/>Probate"]
end
subgraph STALLWORTH["🏛️ Tier 3A — Stallworth Dynasty"]
NWS["Nicole Wells-Stallworth<br/>MacDowell Board President<br/>Killed MDE investigation"]
KEITH_S["Keith Stallworth<br/>⚠️ Federal money laundering<br/>BCF Managing Director"]
MISHA["Misha Stallworth West<br/>DPSCD Board Member"]
BCF["Black Caucus Foundation<br/>Reunion of Felons"]
end
subgraph POLITICAL["🏛️ Tier 3B — Political Cover"]
GAY["Sherry Gay-Dagnogo<br/>Authorized charters · Ombudsman"]
E_SABREE["Eric Sabree<br/>County Treasurer · FBI-probed"]
MCKINNEY["Billy McKinney<br/>Campaign payments"]
end
subgraph PROFESSIONAL["📋 Tier 4 — Professional Enablers"]
TODD["Todd Perkins<br/>Banks' attorney"]
MEIHN["Gregory Meihn<br/>Board attorney · weekly meetings<br/>'rare find' · missed §5.2"]
end
subgraph TCR["🩺 Tier 5 — TCR 22-12 Vouchers"]
VITTI["Nicolai Vitti<br/>DPSCD Supt · mentor<br/>authorized PCA charter"]
SHULMAN["Terrence Shulman<br/>Social worker · not MD<br/>'not dishonest as character'"]
LENO["Michele Leno<br/>Psychologist · 13 sessions<br/>'person of integrity'"]
end
STATE -->|"per-pupil funding"| PCA
STATE -->|"per-pupil funding"| MAC
PCA -->|"management fee"| LLC
MAC -->|"72.67%"| LLC
LLC -->|"salary + control"| BANKS
BANKS -->|"superintendent"| PCA
BANKS -->|"superintendent"| MAC
BANKS -->|"president + director"| FOUNDATION
HOLLAND -->|"secretary + treasurer"| FOUNDATION
HOLLAND -->|"PAC treasurer"| BSC
BSC -.->|"$383.82"| YANCEY
MILLER -.->|"Board Chair"| PCA
YANCEY -.->|"Board Chair"| MAC
MILLER -.->|"Baker College colleague"| BANKS
AL_SABREE -.->|"MSU Law 2010"| BANKS
TODD -->|"attorney"| BANKS
TODD -.->|"brother"| S_PERKINS
MEIHN -->|"board attorney<br/>weekly meetings"| BANKS
MEIHN -.->|"retained 14 min"| NWS
MEIHN -.->|"missed §5.2"| LLC
VITTI -->|"mentor"| BANKS
VITTI -->|"authorized charter"| PCA
VITTI -.->|"3% math on watch"| MAC
SHULMAN -.->|"6+12 sessions<br/>'not dishonest'"| BANKS
LENO -.->|"13 sessions<br/>'integrity'"| BANKS
E_SABREE -.->|"father"| A_SABREE
E_SABREE -.->|"father"| AL_SABREE
E_SABREE -.->|"endorser"| MILLER
NWS -->|"Board President<br/>hired Banks"| MAC
NWS -.->|"killed investigation"| BANKS
KEITH_S -->|"Managing Director"| BCF
BANKS -.->|"board member"| BCF
MISHA -->|"authorizes charter"| MAC
NWS -.->|"$1,250+ donated"| BANKS
GAY -.->|"authorized charters"| PCA
GAY -.->|"CBC honoree"| BANKS
classDef stallworth fill:#713f12,stroke:#f59e0b,color:#fef3c7
classDef tier1 fill:#991b1b,stroke:#ef4444,color:#fecaca
classDef revenue fill:#1e3a5f,stroke:#60a5fa,color:#bfdbfe
classDef extraction fill:#713f12,stroke:#f59e0b,color:#fef3c7
classDef judicial fill:#312e81,stroke:#818cf8,color:#c7d2fe
classDef political fill:#14532d,stroke:#4ade80,color:#bbf7d0
classDef professional fill:#44403c,stroke:#a8a29e,color:#e7e5e4
classDef state fill:#0f766e,stroke:#2dd4bf,color:#ccfbf1
class BANKS,HOLLAND tier1
class PCA,MAC revenue
class STATE state
class LLC,FOUNDATION,BSC extraction
class MILLER,YANCEY,A_SABREE,AL_SABREE,S_PERKINS,RAMSEY,EVANS_J,MORRIS,D_PERKINS judicial
class NWS,KEITH_S,MISHA,BCF stallworth
class GAY,E_SABREE,MCKINNEY political
class TODD,MEIHN professional
class VITTI,SHULMAN,LENO professional
Self-Dealing Feedback Loop
graph LR
A(("🏫 State of Michigan<br/>Per-Pupil Funding")) -->|"$4.9M+/yr"| B["PCA + MacDowell<br/>(charter schools)"]
B -->|"72.67%"| C["Purpose Group LLC<br/>(Banks = sole member)"]
C -->|"salary + expenses"| D["Brian Banks<br/>(9 convictions)"]
D -->|"consulting payments"| E["Banks Strategy LLC"]
E -->|"$383.82 to Yancey<br/>$8K+ Inner Link"| F["Judges &<br/>Campaign Vendors"]
F -->|"board seats +<br/>favorable rulings"| B
D -->|"CBC events +<br/>campaign donations"| G["Political<br/>Allies"]
G -->|"charter<br/>authorization"| B
style A fill:#0f766e,stroke:#2dd4bf,color:#ccfbf1
style B fill:#1e3a5f,stroke:#60a5fa,color:#bfdbfe
style C fill:#713f12,stroke:#f59e0b,color:#fef3c7
style D fill:#991b1b,stroke:#ef4444,color:#fecaca
style E fill:#713f12,stroke:#f59e0b,color:#fef3c7
style F fill:#312e81,stroke:#818cf8,color:#c7d2fe
style G fill:#14532d,stroke:#4ade80,color:#bbf7d0
The loop closes: public dollars → school → LLC → Banks → campaign payments → judges + politicians → charter authorization → more public dollars. No external oversight breaks the circle because each regulator sees only one segment.
Four Dynasties — One Machine
This is not one corrupt individual. It is four interlocking political dynasties that converge on one charter school enterprise:
| Dynasty | Federal Record | Role in Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Banks/Flenory (BMF) | OD Banks: BMF Defendant #22 | Blood lineage. Extraction playbook. |
| Stallworth | Keith: $20K gang money laundering | BCF incubation → MacDowell board → DPSCD authorization |
| Sabree | FBI-probed, Bowles class action | Judicial capture — 2 children on the bench |
| Kilpatrick | Kwame: 24 RICO felonies, pardoned | PR (Dumas), dark money (Daniels), charter auth (Gay-Dagnogo) |
→ Full Four Dynasties Analysis
The Stallworth Dynasty — How a Family Inherited the Trade
graph TB
subgraph DYNASTY["🏛️ The Stallworth Dynasty"]
ALMA["<b>Alma Stallworth</b><br/>State Rep (21 years)<br/>Founded BCF"]
KEITH["<b>Keith 'K.B.' Stallworth</b><br/>State Rep → Wayne Co. Comm.<br/>⚠️ 2003 FEDERAL GUILTY PLEA<br/>Laundered $20K for a gang<br/>through Detroit strip club"]
TOMMY["<b>Thomas Stallworth III</b><br/>State Rep (2011-2015)<br/>Chair, MI Black Caucus"]
NICOLE["<b>Nicole Wells-Stallworth</b><br/>MacDowell Board President<br/>CEO, The Children's Center"]
MISHA["<b>Misha Stallworth West</b><br/>DPSCD Board Member"]
end
subgraph BCF["🔴 Black Caucus Foundation — Reunion of Felons"]
BCF_ORG["<b>BCF Michigan</b><br/>Mission: 'decrease drug use among youth'<br/>Managed by a federal money launderer"]
BANKS_BCF["Brian Banks<br/>Board Member<br/>9 convictions"]
SMITH["Virgil Smith<br/>Board Member<br/>Felony assault"]
JOHNSON["Bert Johnson<br/>Board Member<br/>Federal bribery"]
end
subgraph SCHOOLS["🏫 The Payoff"]
MAC["MacDowell Prep<br/>3% math · $4.9M state aid"]
DPSCD["DPSCD<br/>Charter Authorizer"]
end
ALMA -->|"founded"| BCF_ORG
ALMA -->|"son"| KEITH
ALMA -->|"son"| TOMMY
KEITH -->|"Managing Director"| BCF_ORG
TOMMY -->|"Director"| BCF_ORG
TOMMY -->|"married"| NICOLE
TOMMY -->|"father"| MISHA
BANKS_BCF -->|"board member"| BCF_ORG
SMITH -->|"board member"| BCF_ORG
JOHNSON -->|"board member"| BCF_ORG
NICOLE -->|"Board President<br/>hired Banks"| MAC
MISHA -->|"Board Member<br/>authorizes charter"| DPSCD
DPSCD -->|"authorizes"| MAC
BANKS_BCF -->|"superintendent"| MAC
classDef dynasty fill:#713f12,stroke:#f59e0b,color:#fef3c7
classDef felon fill:#991b1b,stroke:#ef4444,color:#fecaca
classDef bcf fill:#7f1d1d,stroke:#dc2626,color:#fecaca
classDef school fill:#1e3a5f,stroke:#60a5fa,color:#bfdbfe
classDef auth fill:#14532d,stroke:#4ade80,color:#bbf7d0
class ALMA,TOMMY,NICOLE,MISHA dynasty
class KEITH,BANKS_BCF,SMITH,JOHNSON felon
class BCF_ORG bcf
class MAC school
class DPSCD auth
Hiding Behind Racial Solidarity
The BCF’s institutional armor was racial solidarity. The Black Caucus brand carried the weight of decades of legitimate civil rights work — work Alma Stallworth contributed to over 21 years.
But when the foundation board becomes a reunion of felons — Brian Banks (9 convictions), Keith Stallworth (federal money laundering), Virgil Smith (felony assault), Bert Johnson (federal bribery) — the armor becomes a weapon against the very community it claims to serve.
This is the same pattern at every tier: Judge Miller and Aliyah Sabree at MSU Law — real solidarity weaponized to shield a convicted felon running schools at 3% math proficiency. The children in those classrooms are overwhelmingly Black. 97% of them cannot do grade-level math. The solidarity that protects this outcome is not solidarity with them. It is solidarity among the adults who benefit from their silence.
Keith Stallworth’s $20,000 was not an abstraction. The DOJ confirmed it came from “illegal activities” — laundered through a strip club that exploited women in the same community MacDowell now pretends to serve. The exploitation didn’t end. It professionalized.
The son is not responsible for the sins of the father. But when the son inherits the trade — when the family infrastructure built on drug money becomes the pipeline that installs convicted felons in charge of children — the inheritance is the indictment.
Tiers
- Enterprise Principals — Banks and Holland
- Judicial Cover — 9 judges across 4 courts
- Political Dynasties — Stallworth dynasty, Gay-Dagnogo, Sabree dynasty, McKinney
- Entities — 9+ LLCs, nonprofits, PACs, schools, and the BCF
- Institutional Actors — MDE officials, board presidents, and the cover-up chain
- Professional Enablers — Attorneys who organized the shell structure
- Pattern Analysis — RICO pattern, institutional capture, allied cases, CBC events
Every connection in this network is documented from public records. See Verify Everything for source links.