Connected: Gina Johnsen’s Campaign Paid the Vega Family. Their Son Killed Ambrose Sullivan.

The Death of Ambrose Sullivan

On September 1, 2016, Ambrose Ian Sullivan, 19, was walking home from his job at the Whitmore Lake McDonald’s along Whitmore Lake Road in Green Oak Township, Livingston County. It was approximately 2 a.m. Sullivan was struck by a vehicle and left on the shoulder of the road. His body was not discovered for approximately 36 hours. Green Oak Township police and fire personnel responded to a report of an unresponsive man found along Whitmore Lake Road. Sullivan was pronounced dead at the scene. His coworkers noticed his McDonald’s hat alongside the roadway and raised the alarm. Ambrose Sullivan had been lying on the shoulder of Whitmore Lake Road, the same road David Vega fled down, for a day and a half.

Investigators recovered headlight parts and yellow vehicle body components at the crash site. Those fragments were matched to a 2004 Chevrolet Corvette. The vehicle was not insured and carried an expired license plate. It had sustained approximately $1,000 in damage consistent with a pedestrian impact.

David Vega fled the scene without stopping or reporting the collision. He later told investigators he believed he had struck a deer. After law enforcement identified him through the vehicle evidence, a warrant was authorized. Vega turned himself in and was arraigned in 53rd District Court. The case was bound over to Livingston County’s 44th Circuit Court. On October 6, 2017, Vega entered a guilty plea before Judge Michael P. Hatty. On November 9, 2017, Hatty sentenced him to 7 months in jail and 36 months of probation. No prison term was imposed. The vehicle was not forfeited. The case was closed five days later, on November 14, 2017.

The Corvette was not found at Vega’s residence. It was located at a warehouse on Whitmore Lake owned by Vega’s father, Jeffrey (Jeff) Vega, who runs a transportation business. The concealment of the vehicle became a focal point of criticism from Sullivan’s family, who publicly challenged what they described as inadequate accountability for the conduct following the crash. The Sullivan family pursued a wrongful death civil suit against David Vega, which resulted in a judgment in their favor.

After the Crash: The Brother’s Apartment and the Car Washing Witnesses

According to additional documentation provided to Clutch Justice by Jason Sullivan, Ambrose’s father, that was not available at the time of original publication: after striking Ambrose Sullivan and fleeing the scene, David Vega drove to his brother’s apartment in the Whitmore Lake area. This is consistent with the route documented at the scene, which Jason Sullivan has stated did not correspond to the direction of David Vega’s own residence but was consistent with the route toward his brother’s apartment complex.

The following day, witnesses at or near the apartment complex observed David Vega washing blood off the Corvette. Those witness observations are referenced in supplemental reports connected to Case 16-04295. The complete supplemental reports containing those witness accounts have been requested by Clutch Justice via FOIA and this report will be updated upon receipt.

The vehicle was subsequently moved from the brother’s location to the warehouse on Whitmore Lake Road owned by Jeffrey Vega, where it was recovered by investigators. The sequence documents a deliberate chain of vehicle concealment: from the crash scene, to the brother’s apartment where it was washed, to Jeffrey Vega’s commercial warehouse where it was hidden until law enforcement located it.

What the Police Report Actually Shows

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Safety Division conducted a full forensic crash investigation documented in Case No. 16-04295. Investigator Deputy B. Harmison authored the supplemental report finalized January 4, 2017. The report contains airbag control module data, a nighttime visibility study, scene measurements, vehicle inspection results, and cell tower GPS analysis. What it shows is materially different from the public narrative of an accident involving a driver who thought he hit a deer.

The Airbag Module: He Saw Ambrose Sullivan

Investigators executed a search warrant for the 2004 Corvette’s airbag control module and downloaded the data directly from the vehicle’s data link connector. The module recorded a non-deployment event at the time of impact. The data shows the following in the two seconds before the algorithm enabled:

The investigator’s conclusion in the filed report is precise: the data indicates the driver observed an obstacle prior to impact. David Vega told investigators he thought he hit a deer. The module data documents that he saw something, reduced his throttle, and braked. The report does not conclude he identified the obstacle as a person. It concludes he saw something in the road before he hit it.

The Visibility Study: He Had Enough Road to Stop

On September 30, 2016, Deputy Harmison conducted a nighttime visibility reconstruction study using a 1998 Chevrolet Corvette of identical body style to the 2004 model involved in the crash. The study was conducted during a new moon phase with 1% lunar visibility, matching the conditions on September 1, 2016. Deputy Harmison stood at the east side of the roadway near Corrigan Oil’s driveway, without a shirt and wearing black pants, replicating the clothing Ambrose Sullivan was wearing the night he was killed.

The test driver operating the 1998 Corvette on low beams was able to detect an object at 394 feet and identify it as a person at 208 feet. The investigator applied a 50% reduction factor to the detection distance for conservatism, yielding an effective detection distance of 197 feet. At 50 mph, total stopping distance including a 1.25-second perception-reaction time was calculated at 187 feet. The clearance between effective detection distance and total stopping distance was 10 feet.

Ambrose Sullivan was walking eastbound on the shoulder of Whitmore Lake Road, heading home from his shift at McDonald’s. He was wearing a black and red shirt. The investigation established he had clocked out at 1:02 a.m. and left the restaurant approximately 20 minutes later. A Sheriff’s Explorer who replicated the walk covered the 4,630 feet from McDonald’s to Corrigan Oil’s driveway in 20 minutes and 49 seconds. The reconstruction places Sullivan in the roadway corridor between approximately 1:22 a.m. and 1:42 a.m. The crash occurred at approximately 1:40 a.m.

Vega Entertainment: The Business Name in the Police File

The Incident Report Suspect List on page 5 of Case 16-04295 lists David Michael Vega’s business address as Vega Entertainment, Video Prod. This is the same media and video production business that, under the name Vega Media, would later receive $9,250 from the Committee to Elect Gina Johnsen in the 2022 election cycle and $29,000 from the Gina Majority Fund in the 2024 cycle. The September 2016 police report documents that David Vega was operating a video production business at the time he struck and killed Ambrose Sullivan. The business operating as Vega Entertainment in the 2016 crash report is the documented predecessor entity to the Vega Media that became the Johnsen political operation’s primary vendor.

Corrigan Oil: A Name That Runs Through the Entire Case

The crash scene on Whitmore Lake Road is located directly adjacent to the entrance of Corrigan Oil. The investigator’s scene report notes: “The location where this incident occurred is adjacent to the entrance to Corrigan Oil.” The vehicle’s security cameras were checked and did not cover the roadway. After David Vega was identified, the impounded Corvette was stored at Corrigan Towing. When the Michigan State Police lab needed the vehicle for forensic processing, it was transported via a Corrigan flatbed. After the MSP released the vehicle, it was returned to Corrigan Towing via a Corrigan flatbed wrecker.

In the 2020 Livingston County prosecutor’s race, Corrigan Oil owner Tim Corrigan contributed $1,000 to incumbent Prosecutor William Vailliencourt’s campaign. Vailliencourt was the prosecutor who handled the David Vega case, declining to charge Jeffrey Vega and accepting the guilty plea that resulted in a 7-month jail sentence. The Livingston Post’s campaign finance report on the 2020 race documents the Corrigan contribution to Vailliencourt.

David Vega Contacted His Mother the Night of the Crash

According to additional police documentation provided to Clutch Justice by Jason Sullivan, Ambrose’s father, that was not available at the time of original publication: David Vega admitted to investigators that he messaged his mother, Patricia Vega, on the night of the crash. The contact did not appear in the AT&T cell tower GPS warrant return because it was not transmitted through cell tower infrastructure. The message was sent through data-based messaging, meaning iMessage, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Signal, or a similar application that routes through internet data rather than the cellular network and therefore would not appear in traditional cell carrier records obtained by search warrant.

This distinction matters significantly. The AT&T search warrant return, which covered the period from September 1, 2016 at 1:00 a.m. through September 2, 2016 at 6:00 p.m., and from which Detective Sergeant Sean Tinkle of the Michigan State Police constructed a GPS location map, would not have captured data-based messaging traffic. David Vega’s own admission establishes the contact with Patricia Vega as a documented fact, not a cell record inference.

Patricia Vega is the registered agent of Vega Group Inc., the corporate entity named in the Sullivan wrongful death civil suit and found in default. She appeared under oath as Vega Group Inc.’s resident agent at the October 2018 creditor examination before Judge Hatty. Her son’s admission that he contacted her the night of the crash establishes that she had knowledge of the incident before the vehicle was concealed in Jeffrey Vega’s warehouse on Whitmore Lake Road and before David Vega turned himself in to law enforcement.

Beer at the Scene: What the Report Documents

Deputy Harmison’s scene investigation report documents the following, verbatim: “Near the entrance of Corrigan Oil there was a single headlight lens piece that was included in the evidence/scene.” And, in the same passage describing the debris field north of Sullivan’s body: “Also to the north was a white plastic bag on the dirt/gravel shoulder that appeared to have two full cans of beer.”

The cans were full. They were unconsumed. They were located on the dirt/gravel shoulder near the Corrigan Oil entrance, in the same debris corridor where the acceleration marks and headlight fragments were documented.

Ambrose Ian Sullivan was born November 3, 1996. He was 19 years old on the night he was killed. The legal drinking age in Michigan is 21. He was not of legal drinking age. The two full, unconsumed cans of beer documented at the scene were not attributable to him.

The Investigator Who Built the Record

Deputy B. Harmison of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Safety Division conducted one of the most thorough and methodical traffic fatality investigations documented in this report. What he built from the evidence at Whitmore Lake Road deserves specific recognition.

On September 9, 2016, he executed a search warrant for the airbag control module of the suspect vehicle and downloaded the data directly from the vehicle’s data link connector. The module recorded exactly what happened in the two seconds before impact: David Vega reduced his throttle to zero and activated his brakes. Harmison documented the investigator’s conclusion precisely: the driver observed an obstacle prior to impact.

On September 30, 2016, he drove to Whitmore Lake Road after dark during a new moon phase with 1% lunar visibility, brought a 1998 Corvette matching the suspect vehicle’s body style, stood on the east side of the roadway without a shirt in black pants replicating Ambrose Sullivan’s clothing, and had a test driver make passes to establish exactly how far away a person could be detected and identified. He applied a 50% reduction factor to his detection distance for conservatism. His math showed the vehicle had 10 feet of clearance to stop. His conclusion: the vehicle should have stopped before striking the pedestrian.

He obtained AT&T cell tower GPS records under search warrant. He reconstructed Sullivan’s walk from McDonald’s using a Sheriff’s Explorer and a stopwatch. He measured every relevant point on the scene with a Robotic Leica Total Station. He documented the body position, the debris field, the acceleration marks on freshly paved asphalt north of the impact point, the blood and tissue on the windshield, and the blood smear on the rear fender. He documented that Sullivan’s body had been moved from its uncontrolled point of rest. He noted the two full unconsumed beer cans in the debris field. He noted the vehicle was uninsured with an expired plate.

He then forwarded the complete investigative package to the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

Deputy Harmison did not cut corners. He did not file a thin report and move on. He stood on the side of a dark road without a shirt to prove what David Vega could see. He built a record that documented every element a prosecutor would need to bring the most serious available charges. That record exists because of his work. The Sullivan family’s civil case rested on it. This investigation is built on it. Whatever failures followed, they did not begin with Deputy B. Harmison.

The Corrigan Network: Judge, Prosecutor, and Crime Scene

The Corrigan family’s presence in this case extends beyond the crash scene and vehicle custody chain. Michigan Bureau of Elections records from the Michigan Transparency Network show three members of the Corrigan family contributed to the Committee to Elect Circuit Judge Michael P. Hatty in the 2010 pre-primary campaign statement. Judge Hatty is the judge who sentenced David Vega to 7 months jail and 36 months probation in November 2017.

Timothy Corrigan Sr. is listed at 3649 Flint Road, Brighton. Michael Corrigan is listed at 3662 Flint Road. Frederick Corrigan is listed at 3700 Flint Road. All three are neighbors on the same road, consistent with members of the same family operating under the same Corrigan business enterprise. Timothy Corrigan Sr. is the same Tim Corrigan who contributed $1,000 to Prosecutor William Vailliencourt’s 2020 reelection campaign, as documented in Livingston Post campaign finance reporting.

Judge Hatty retired from the 44th Circuit Court bench and was subsequently appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the Michigan Appellate Defender Commission on August 7, 2025, for a term expiring May 24, 2029. He was recommended for this appointment by the Michigan Judges Association. Source: Michigan Appellate Defender Office, sado.org, August 7, 2025.

This report does not establish that any Corrigan contribution influenced any official decision in the Vega case. The 2010 Hatty contributions predate the 2016 crash by six years. The documented facts are what they are: the Corrigan family held the vehicle, provided transport for the forensic investigation, and contributed to the campaigns of both officials who determined David Vega’s fate. That is the record.

The Attorney: An Insider Who Knew Every Room in the Courthouse

When the Vega family retained legal counsel for David Michael Vega, they did not hire an outside attorney unfamiliar with Livingston County’s criminal justice system. They hired James W. Metz II, a Howell-based criminal defense attorney whose entire legal career was built inside the Livingston County courthouse.

Metz clerked for Judge Hegarty in the 53rd District Court, the same court where David Vega was initially arraigned on the felony charge. He then spent nearly a decade as a Senior Trial Attorney in the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office, the same office that handled the Vega case under Prosecutor William Vailliencourt. He knows the prosecutors, he knows the judges, he knows the court staff, and he knows precisely how cases move through the Livingston County system.

Peer reviews from fellow attorneys in public directories describe Metz as “arguably the best defense attorney in the County” and note that he “started as a prosecutor and has extensive trial experience.” One attorney endorsement states directly: “I refer many clients to him with confidence that he will obtain the proper result.”

Metz Contributed to Judge Hatty’s Campaign

Michigan Transparency Network records show that James Metz contributed $50 to the Committee to Elect Circuit Judge Michael P. Hatty on April 14, 2010. The contributor address is listed as 5722 Scythe Court, Gregory, Michigan, a Livingston County address consistent with Metz’s local practice. Committee ID 514638, 2010 Pre-Primary Campaign Statement, direct contribution.

The timing of the contribution is significant. Metz left the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office in January 2010. The contribution to Judge Hatty’s campaign is dated April 14, 2010, three months after his departure, made from his personal home address in Gregory, Michigan. This was not an obligatory office contribution made while employed. It was a personal contribution made after he had left the prosecutor’s office, to a judge he had worked alongside throughout his decade in the Livingston County courthouse. Six years later, the Vega family retained Metz to defend their son in front of that same judge. David Vega received 7 months jail. The documented relationship between Metz and Judge Hatty, established through their shared years in the Livingston County system and formalized in the campaign finance record, is a matter of public record.

This report does not establish that any contribution influenced any official decision in the Vega case. It establishes that the financial relationships exist in the public record, that they connect the defense attorney, the sentencing judge, the prosecuting office, and the business that held the suspect vehicle, and that none of these relationships were publicly disclosed at the time of sentencing. The record shows what it shows.

What David Vega Should Have Been Charged With

The charge Livingston County prosecutors brought against David Michael Vega was MCL 257.617, failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death. It carries a maximum of five years in prison. He pleaded guilty. He received 7 months at a county jail with good time eligibility. The case was closed in 117 days.

The forensic record in Case 16-04295 documents a factual predicate that Michigan law supports charging as something considerably more serious. This analysis is based entirely on the documented findings of Investigator Deputy B. Harmison, the airbag control module data, and the scene reconstruction report.

Second-Degree Murder: MCL 750.317

Michigan second-degree murder does not require an intent to kill. Under People v. Goecke, 457 Mich 442 (1998), operating a vehicle with wanton and wilful disregard of the likelihood that death or great bodily harm will result is sufficient. The forensic record documented above supplies the factual predicate: Vega saw an obstacle, had room to stop, did not stop, fled at speed, moved the body, and hid the vehicle. The Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office did not charge second-degree murder. They charged failure to stop.

Evidence Tampering and Obstruction: MCL 750.483a

The body movement documented above, from uncontrolled to controlled point of rest, face down, arms crossed, legs straight against the fence, no grass staining, no disturbance consistent with a natural landing, falls within MCL 750.483a, obstruction of justice. Moving a body conceals the location of impact, the nature of the collision, and the trajectory of the victim. That finding was in the report transmitted to the Prosecutor’s Office. No obstruction charge was brought.

The Charge That Was Brought and What It Cost

One count. MCL 257.617, failure to stop. Maximum five years. Guilty plea October 6, 2017. Seven months county jail. Thirty-six months probation. No prison. No forfeiture. Good time under MCL 51.282 reduced actual time served to approximately five and a half months. The case was filed July 20, 2017 and closed November 14, 2017. One hundred seventeen days for the death of a 19-year-old.

The Question Livingston County Prosecutors Did Not Answer

The vehicle was found at Jeffrey Vega’s warehouse on Whitmore Lake Road, the same road where Ambrose Sullivan died. Under MCL 750.505 and People v Luca, 402 Mich 302 (1978), an accessory after the fact is one who, with knowledge of another’s guilt, renders assistance to hinder detection, arrest, trial, or punishment. The penalty is up to five years. MCL 767.67 permits charging an accessory independently of the principal. The decision not to charge Jeffrey Vega was a prosecutorial choice, not a legal impossibility.

The Vega Family’s Political Operation

Jeffrey Vega is publicly identified as President of the Hispanic Leadership Initiative, a Michigan-based conservative faith and civic organization. He is also listed on Facebook as an executive film producer and maintains a public profile as a political organizer within Michigan’s Republican-aligned faith community. His organization’s website is propositomi.org.

During the 2022 Michigan election cycle, Michigan Secretary of State records show a political committee called the Vega Fund was registered and active. The Vega Fund’s contributor list includes David Vega ($500) and Patricia Vega ($225), names consistent with the Fowlerville Vega family. The Vega Fund made several disbursements supporting Republican candidates in Livingston County and the surrounding region during that cycle.

The Vega Fund’s single largest expenditure was a $2,225 payment to Vega Media, disbursed on December 30, 2021. Vega Media is listed in public records as based in Howell, Michigan. Its Facebook page describes the business as a branding and media company. The Vega Fund also contributed to campaigns including Friends of Jamie Thompson and Scott Barlow for Michigan, among others.

The Johnsen Campaign Payment

Michigan Secretary of State campaign finance records, as aggregated by Transparency USA, show the Committee to Elect Gina Johnsen paid Vega Media across three separate transactions during the 2022 election cycle. The payments were made on December 27, 2021 ($4,250), August 22, 2022 ($2,000), August 22, 2022 ($1,000), and September 30, 2022 ($2,000), totaling $9,250. All transactions list the payment city as Howell.

The payment category field in the public filings does not specify whether Vega Media was engaged for media production, consulting, advertising, or another service. Michigan campaign finance law requires disclosure of payee name, amount, and date, but does not mandate itemized descriptions of services rendered at the individual transaction level.

The Network Overlap: Lambright, Citizens Defending Freedom, and the Johnsen Office

The Vega Fund’s contributor list includes David Lambright ($500) and Ellen Lambright ($500). David Lambright appeared as a co-featured speaker with Jeffrey Vega at the March 30, 2025 Time to Lead faith leaders and influencer gathering held at Real Life Church in Charlotte, Michigan. That event was co-sponsored by Citizens Defending Freedom Faith.

While the Sullivan family pursued their civil judgment through garnishment proceedings in 2020 and 2021, Jeffrey Vega continued his public role as President of the Hispanic Leadership Initiative, an organization whose stated mission involves faith leadership and civic influence. On March 30, 2025, Vega appeared as a featured speaker at the Time to Lead faith leaders and influencer gathering in Charlotte, Michigan. The event’s promotional graphic described its theme as “Equipping the Culture Changers.” The event was co-sponsored by Citizens Defending Freedom Faith. The last docket entry in the Sullivan family’s civil case, a garnishment disclosure, is dated March 8, 2021. No public record documents the wrongful death judgment as satisfied.

Citizens Defending Freedom has a documented relationship with Rep. Johnsen’s legislative work. Michigan House Education and Workforce committee minutes from a 2026 hearing show that a Citizens Defending Freedom representative testified in support of HB 5364 at the same hearing at which Rep. Johnsen also testified in support of the bill.

Robin Stearns is listed in Michigan legislative directories as Johnsen’s Legislative Aide and Constituent Services representative, with a official house.mi.gov email address. Public Facebook records show Stearns among those who reacted to a post by Jeff Vega in the period examined.

What the Record Does Not Show

Public campaign finance records do not specify what services Vega Media was retained to provide to the Johnsen campaign. The payment category fields in the Michigan SOS filings are not itemized at the service level. Michigan LARA’s business entity database does not return a registered entity matching Vega Media at the time of this reporting, which may indicate the business operates under a trade name, is registered under a different legal name, or was not formally incorporated as a Michigan entity.

This investigation does not establish that Rep. Johnsen had knowledge of David Vega’s 2016 criminal charge or the warehouse concealment when her campaign engaged Vega Media. It does not establish that Vega Media’s work for the campaign was improper under Michigan law. It establishes that the financial relationship exists in the public record, that the entity receiving payment shares a name and city of record with a family political committee whose contributors include the defendant in a fatal hit-and-run, and that the Vega family’s broader political network overlaps with Johnsen’s own organizational affiliations.

Gina Johnsen’s 2026 Senate Campaign

Rep. Johnsen is currently a candidate for Michigan State Senate District 33, a Republican primary race covering parts of Kent, Ionia, Newaygo, Montcalm, Lake, Muskegon, and Ottawa counties. The 2022 campaign cycle examined in this report reflects the race in which Johnsen first won election to the Michigan House’s 78th District, a seat she has held since January 2023 and was re-elected to in 2024.

Johnsen has not, as of the publication of this report, responded to a request for comment on the Vega Media payments or the Vega family connection. This article will be updated.

The Civil Case: What the Sullivan Family Had to Do to Get Justice

Seven days after David Vega was sentenced in criminal court, the Sullivan family filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit. The case, Ambrose Sullivan v. David Vega, was filed September 8, 2017, in the 44th Circuit Court in Howell. Judge of record: Michael P. Hatty. MiCOURT Case ID: 2017-0000029572-NI.

The Sullivan family named two defendants. The first was David Michael Vega. The second was Vega Group Inc., the corporate entity associated with the Vega family’s transportation business, the same business that owned the warehouse where the Corvette was hidden. The plaintiff is listed as Ambrose Sullivan, per Tammy Donaldson. Kayla, Ambrose’s mother, has publicly documented the family’s pursuit of this judgment on her blog at welfarekayla.wordpress.com.

Neither defendant showed up.

Serving Vega Group Inc.: A Four-Month Chase

Serving David Vega personally took until November 9, 2017. Serving Vega Group Inc. proved far more difficult. The Sullivan family could not locate the company for regular service. On November 30, 2017, they filed a motion for alternate service. The court granted an order for alternate service on December 1, 2017, authorizing service by first class mail, tacking, affixing, restricted delivery, and publication. On December 18, 2017, the court entered an order for service by publication and posting.

Over the following weeks, the Sullivan family served Vega Group Inc. by publication and tacking in late December 2017 and into January and February 2018. The company still did not respond. David Vega was found in default on February 8, 2018. Vega Group Inc. was found in default on March 15, 2018. On May 24, 2018, the Sullivan family filed a motion for entry of default judgment.

The Default Judgment Hearing: Victims Speak Into the Record

On June 29, 2018, Judge Hatty conducted the default judgment hearing. The MiCOURT docket entry records the following: “P: ANDREW MILLER; W/VICTIMS; VICTIMS PLACE STATEMENT ON THE RECORD; COURT SIGNS ORDER OF DEFAULT JUDGMENT; ORDER DOES RESOLVE THE LAST PENDING CLAIM AND DOES CLOSE THIS CASE.”

Ambrose Sullivan’s family stood in a Livingston County courtroom and placed their statement on the record. The judge who signed that order was the same Judge Hatty who had sentenced David Vega to 7 months jail seven months earlier. The defense attorney who had represented David Vega at sentencing, James Metz, had contributed $50 to Hatty’s judicial campaign in 2010, three months after leaving the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office. The Corrigan family, whose towing company held and transported the vehicle throughout the investigation, had contributed $800 to Hatty’s same 2010 campaign.

The Sullivan family got their default judgment. Then the real fight began.

What David Vega Was Doing While the Sullivan Family Pursued Collection

While the Sullivan family was subpoenaing David Vega and Patricia Vega for creditor examinations, garnishing income tax refunds, and spending years in post-judgment collection proceedings, David Vega was directing a feature film.

The film is titled Broken Vessels. It is listed on IMDB under title tt7682292, directed by David Vega, filed February 20, 2020. It was filmed in Howell, Michigan. The courthouse in Howell, the same courthouse where Judge Hatty sentenced David Vega to seven months and where the wrongful death default judgment was entered against him, appears as a filming location. The cast includes Tracy Fraim, LeeAnne Locken, Colleen Gentry, and Terri Partyka.

The subject of the film: a survivor’s journey to living again after suffering a traumatic brain injury.

The IMDB cast list for Broken Vessels documents the following credits: Director, David Vega. Writers, Ryan Lax, Matthew Santia, and David Vega. Cast member: Jeffery Vega, role: Store Patron. Jeffrey Vega, the man who concealed the vehicle used to kill Ambrose Sullivan in his warehouse on Whitmore Lake Road, who was never charged with accessory after the fact, who incorporated Vega Media 25 days after his son’s guilty plea, appeared as an actor in his son’s feature film about traumatic brain injury survival. Source: IMDB tt7682292, cast and crew listing. Screenshot on file with Clutch Justice.

David Vega struck Ambrose Sullivan with his Corvette at approximately 42 miles per hour. Sullivan suffered fatal injuries. Vega served approximately five and a half months at Livingston County Jail. He then directed a feature film about traumatic brain injury survival, filmed at the courthouse where he was sentenced, in the county where the Sullivan family was actively pursuing collection of the wrongful death judgment against him.

The Livingston Daily published a feature article on the film production on January 23, 2019, seven months after the default judgment was entered against Vega and Vega Group Inc. on June 29, 2018. The Sullivan family was subpoenaed for creditor examinations in October 2018. The Livingston Daily feature was published while those proceedings were active.

Collecting the Judgment: Years of Pursuit

Kayla, Ambrose Sullivan’s mother, has publicly documented the judgment amount on her blog at welfarekayla.wordpress.com. In a September 1, 2020 post, she wrote: “David Vega and the Vega Company, who owe us 3 million dollars- have yet to acknowledge that they are accountable to a court verdict. They have paid nothing. Nothing. Nothing, Nothing. Three million dollar Wrongful Death lawsuit. It was $10 million, but the Dis-Honorable Judge Hattie reduces it to $3.” The specific judgment amount is not displayed in the MiCOURT public docket and has not been independently confirmed through the court order itself, which requires a direct records request to the 44th Circuit Court. Clutch Justice has requested the judgment order. This report will be updated upon receipt.

A default judgment is not a check. It is a piece of paper that has to be collected. The MiCOURT docket shows what the Sullivan family had to do next.

On August 31, 2018, two months after the default judgment, the Sullivan family subpoenaed both David Vega and Patricia Vega for judgment debtor examinations, at a cost of $15 each. On October 18, 2018, the creditor examination was held before Judge Hatty. David Vega appeared. Patricia Vega appeared. Patricia Vega was identified in the court record as the resident agent of Vega Group Inc. She testified under oath. David Vega testified under oath. The examination was held off the record. Judge Hatty ordered that any Social Security numbers on documents provided by Vega in the court file be redacted.

The Vega family and Vega Group Inc. provided financial information. The Sullivan family still could not collect what they were owed.

On October 7, 2020, more than two years after the default judgment, the Sullivan family filed a request and writ for garnishment of income tax refunds, at a cost of $15. They were attempting to garnish David Vega’s state income tax refund to satisfy a wrongful death judgment. On December 4, 2020, proof of service was filed. On March 8, 2021, a garnishment disclosure was filed.

The 2024 Cycle: The Relationship Expands

The financial relationship between the Johnsen political operation and Vega Media did not end after the 2022 race. In the 2024 election cycle, a new independent committee called the Gina Majority Fund emerged as the primary vehicle. Michigan SOS records show the Gina Majority Fund raised $84,000 and spent $83,864. Its single largest expenditure was $29,000 to Vega Media, paid across three transactions in May, August, and October 2024. Johnsen’s candidate committee paid Vega Media an additional $1,000 in June 2023. The Gina Majority Fund also paid the Vega Fund directly, $3,500 in the 2024 cycle, the same Vega Fund whose contributors include David Vega and Patricia Vega.

The Gina Majority Fund’s top individual contributor was Gary Mattson at $25,000. Mattson is the founder of Mattson Financial Services LLC, an independent retirement and tax planning firm headquartered in Kentwood, Michigan. He hosts a weekend financial radio program on 106.9 FM and 1300 AM in West Michigan. His $25,000 contribution to the Gina Majority Fund is the only recorded Michigan political contribution in his 2024 cycle profile. Johnsen herself contributed $15,000 to the fund. Barry Bussell contributed $12,500. Sidney Jansma Jr., Chairman of Wolverine Gas and Oil Corporation and a longtime Michigan Republican donor who gave $148,525 across Michigan political committees in the 2024 cycle, contributed $5,000 to the Gina Majority Fund. The Barry County Republican Committee contributed $2,000.

The Gina Majority Fund’s second largest expenditure after Vega Media was $12,250 paid to the Andy Shaver Campaign on August 20, 2024. Michigan SOS filing Expenditure ID 569179-e4341-0 describes the payment as a Contribution. Andy Shaver is the founding pastor of Real Life Church in Charlotte, Michigan: the same venue where Jeffrey Vega appeared as a featured speaker at the March 2025 Time to Lead event. Shaver ran as a Republican candidate for Michigan House District 76 in 2024, winning his primary on August 6, 2024, fourteen days before the Gina Majority Fund contribution was made. He lost the November 2024 general election to incumbent Angela Witwer. The fund also paid $12,000 back to Gina Johnsen’s candidate committee. The House Republican Campaign Committee received $8,400. The Vega Fund received $3,500.

Who Funded the Gina Majority Fund

The Gina Majority Fund’s $84,000 in 2024 contributions came from a small number of donors. Their profiles are documented in public records and are worth examining alongside the fund’s top vendor relationship with Vega Media.