ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform that has collected millions of dollars for Kamala Harris, is facing potential criminal charges in five states over allegations that it fraudulently exploited unwitting donors to get around campaign finance laws.
“Through our investigation into ActBlue and the reported campaign finance law violations, we upheld our commitment to the American people to increase transparency in our elections.” Last month, Steil asked the FEC to tighten donor verification standards so that political committees are compelled to verify the three-digit security code of credit cards provided by donors and ban the use of gift cards for donations.
The GOP-led Committee on House Administration has been investigating claims that fraudulent donations are being laundered to ActBlue in the form of gift cards and prepaid credit cards.
Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) on Wednesday referred his committee’s findings of “potential criminal activity” to the Republican attorneys general of Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, Texas and Virginia for further investigation.
Steil also has introduced legislation requiring further safeguards for online political donations.
“This investigation has exposed potential criminal activity that should be investigated by an appropriate law enforcement agency, such as your office,” Steil wrote in letters to each attorney general, attaching detailed donor records.
Money laundering experts working for the committee analyzed over 200 million Federal Election Commission records spanning the last 14 years to identify suspicious trends such as hundreds of donations of $2.50 from the same individual.
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