Two Lawyers Plead Guilty in $1.6 Million Scam PAC Fraud Case

Fraudsters have apparently flocked to take advantage of the heightened political divides in our country.  Besides the extensive N.Y. Times coverage earlier this year of one set of questionable PACs, we have previously reported on the indictment and later sentencing of three individuals who raised approximately $4 million for two PACs – one conservative and one progressive – to enrich themselves. We also noted that some of the accusations swirling around Representative George Santos might indicate problematic PAC finances, and that ProPublica and Politico had reported on these developments as early as 2019.

The latest news along these lines is out of Wisconsin, where the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced that two North Carolina lawyers had plead guilty to operating a scam PAC to the tune of more than $1.6 million. The case is in Wisconsin because the PAC purported to raise money to draft Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke to run for U.S. Senate, while actually spending the money on more fundraising to benefit the two organizers. To Sheriff Clarke’s credit, he himself denounced the PAC as a scam after he decided he would not run for Senate.

Coverage: Milwaukee Journal SentinelRoll CallWISN.

Lloyd Mayer