MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) — A man was sentenced to at least four years in prison Wednesday for an election petition scandal that spoiled the candidacies of five Republicans who were running for Michigan governor in 2022.

But a suburban Detroit judge agreed to allow Shawn Wilmoth to stay out of prison while he appeals his convictions for forgery and other crimes, saying the case was unusual. He still must post a bond.

“A case like this has never been seen before” in Michigan, Judge James Maceroni said.

Candidates hired Wilmoth to help them get 15,000 signatures from voters to qualify for the Republican primary ballot four years ago. State elections staff, however, believe people simply sat at a table, signed petitions and passed them around.

The petitions were full of bogus signatures and, as a result, the candidates didn’t have enough valid ones to qualify. No candidate was accused of knowing about the scheme.

The Republican candidates who were forced out included former Detroit police Chief James Craig and millionaire businessman Perry Johnson, who is running again this year.

At trial, defense lawyers tried to shift blame, telling the jury that Wilmoth and co-defendant Willie Reed were defrauded by dozens of petition circulators. Reed was also convicted.

Nine campaigns, including some Detroit-area judicial candidates, paid more than $700,000 to businesses affiliated with Reed and Wilmoth to get signatures, the attorney general’s office said.

As Johnson runs for governor again in 2026, he said every voter who signs a petition to get him on the August ballot will receive a text message asking them to confirm.

He promised to submit “petitions of the highest quality.”