Hotel heist: Fraudsters stole thousands from hospitality giant's political committee

WASHINGTON — An "unknown and unauthorized external party" stole nearly $7,500 from Marriott International's federal political action committee — the latest in a string of thefts affecting high-profile politicians, corporations and unions.

The thefts, which took place on Feb. 20 and March 12, according to federal documents reviewed by Raw Story, were not an inside job, the Marriott International Inc. Political Action Committee told the Federal Election Commission.

"The transactions were external fraudulent activity and not the result of committee staff misappropriating funds or due
to a failure to implement internal controls," Marriott International's PAC wrote the FEC on Aug. 6 following an inquiry from the agency in July. "In fact, the Committees internal controls contributed to the quick identification, reporting, and remedy of this issue."

Upon Marriott International PAC officials notifying their bank — the committee lists both Trust and the Vanguard Group as its financial institutions — "the bank opened a fraud claim, investigated, and ultimately credited the committee for the funds fraudulently debited."

ALSO READ: 21 worthless knick-knacks Donald Trump will give you for your cash

It is unclear whether the hotel company separately involved law enforcement.

Melissa Froehlich-Flood, the Marriott International PAC's treasurer, and Marriott International's corporate media relations department, did not immediately return requests for comment.

The hotelier uses its PAC help bankroll the campaigns of prominent members of Congress, typically spending several hundred thousands of dollars during each two-year election cycle, according to federal data compiled by nonpartisan research group OpenSecrets.

Percentage-wise, Marriott International's PAC gives roughly the same amount of money to Republicans and Democrats.

During the 2023-2024 election cycle, for example, Marriott International's PAC gave a maximum donation of $5,000 to the reelection campaign of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) before he quit Congress late last year. (McCarthy's campaign committee, incidentally, is a fraud victim, too.)

ALSO READ: Tim Walz's personal finances are extraordinarily boring — and that may help Harris

It has also given $5,000 to the reelection campaign of Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), who is facing a stiff challenge from Republican businessman Dave McCormick.

Marriott International's PAC "has worked with its bank to block unauthorized ACH transactions and implement additional fraud prevention measures offered by the bank," it told the FEC last week. "There have been no subsequent fraudulent debits against the committee's bank account."

Numerous political thefts

Dozens of political committees have fallen victim this decade to thefts large and small.

Some thieves using sophisticated technology, while others use decidedly old-school methods such as mail theft and check washing.

The Wisconsin Republican Party, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), the Managed Funds Association PAC, and the Retired Americans PAC — a super PAC that supports Democrats — each lost six- or seven-figure amounts.

Among the political committees that have lost five-figure amounts to fraud: President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign; the Republican National Committee, the reelection campaign of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL); State Farm Insurance; the Business Industry Political Action Committee; and The Lincoln Project, an anti-Donald Trump super PAC.

It varies from committee to committee whether a political committee is able to recover lost funds in part or in full — or at all.