By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-10-29 18:29:50 | Updated at 2024-10-30 05:31:12
13 hours ago
The Treasury Department has found records of hundreds of transactions linked to Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue that have been flagged by banks as potentially suspicious, according to a congressional memo exclusively obtained by The Post.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer briefed his panel’s Republican members last week on the “potentially fraudulent and illicit financial activity” involving the political donations portal following briefings with Treasury Department staff.
“Although Treasury has not yet produced any records, it is currently reviewing hundreds of potentially responsive records,” Comer (R-Ky.) revealed in the Oct. 25 memo.
“Treasury revealed this is one of the largest records reviews it has conducted this Congress,” he added.
Those records could include evidence of money laundering, fraudulent or counterfeit use of credit or debit cards, wire transfer fraud, identity theft or other financial crimes flagged since Jan. 1, 2023, in Suspicious Activity Reports that financial institutions file with the federal government.
Comer told Oversight panel members that his staff was “working closely with Treasury to obtain the materials expeditiously.”
GOP-led congressional committees and Republican state attorneys general in Missouri, Texas and Wyoming have probed ActBlue this year over similar allegations of fraudulent fundraising.
So-called “dummy” accounts have potentially made thousands of individual donations to Democratic causes.
Ex-Herman Cain chief of staff and Wisconsin Republican strategist Mark Block alleged in an explosive racketeering lawsuit earlier this month that his identity was one of many that had been stolen — and used this year to make at least 385 donations worth $884.38 to the Harris Victory Fund and other left-wing committees.
Individual contributions of less than $200 do not have to be reported to the Federal Election Commission.
Until recently, ActBlue did not require Card Verification Values for online transactions with debit cards, credit cards or prepaid gift cards — opening their portal to fraud and even illicit foreign contributions.
House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) in a Monday letter claimed his panel’s investigation found that China, Russia, Iran and Venezuela in particular “may be exploiting existing U.S. donors by making straw donations without the individuals’ or [ActBlue]’s knowledge.”
The Administration Committee’s probe discovered that, in some cases, hundreds of donations to ActBlue have been recorded amounting to just $2.50 from the same individual.
It also showed that some donors made contributions well beyond their means or to the opposite party from the one they usually back.
“We rigorously protect our donors’ security and enforce strict anti-fraud compliance policies,” an ActBlue spokesperson told The Post in a statement on Monday. “We have zero tolerance for fraud on our platform and are confident in our longstanding reputation as a trusted and reliable digital fundraising platform.”
ActBlue helped raise more than $2.2 billion for Democratic candidates and causes during the 2021-22 election cycle, according to the money-in-politics tracker OpenSecrets.com.
The platform has also helped Vice President Kamala Harris, with her campaign receiving as much as $46.7 million from donors using ActBlue just hours after she succeeded President Biden as the Democratic nominee.
In addition to the Treasury, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and FBI are briefing the congressional committees on the matter.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
