A thief nabbed a $3,000 check sent by a political committee led by former House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — the latest instance in an epidemic of thefts involving political committees, according to a Raw Story review of federal campaign records.
A July 2023 check intended for a photographer was “stolen during the USPS mail process and fraudulently cashed,” according to the McCarthy Victory Fund’s year-end report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Jan. 31.
The report indicated that the committee filed a police report, and there were “no wrongdoers or bad actors within the committee.”
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The committee paid the photographer, Doug Coulter, the $2,936.38 he was owed on Aug. 9, 2023, and the committee's bank provided reimbursement for the fraudulently cashed check on Oct. 19, 2023, according to the report.
The campaign committee did not respond to Raw Story’s request for comment.
McCarthy, who was ousted as House speaker last year, submitted his resignation from Congress at the end of December 2023.
The McCarthy Victory Fund — a joint fundraising committee that benefits McCarthy’s campaign committee, his leadership political action committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee — still reported more than $950,000 in cash as of Dec. 31.
Political committee theft epidemic
This is hardly the first time thieves ripped off a political fundraising committee.
Over the past year, Raw Story reported that scammers stole millions of donor dollars combined from dozens of political campaign committees — which have experienced varying levels of success in recouping the stolen funds.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s political action committee reported theft of nearly $4,700 due to fraudulent checks in December, and the Oregon Republican Party was the victim of a fake check scam last summer.
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Last year, the FEC questioned the campaign of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) about the fraudulent use of her campaign credit card by far-right agitator Milo Yiannopoulos, who purchased a campaign website domain for rapper Kanye West using Greene’s donor dollars, Raw Story reported.
In May, Raw Story reported that the Managed Funds Association PAC was targeted more than 20 times between Jan. 1 and March 31, initially losing $147,000 in fraudulent check payments, although it appeared to have since recouped the money, according to filings with the FEC.
The Retired Americans PAC, a super PAC that supports Democrats, recouped more than $150,000 it lost in late 2022 after paying fraudulent bills sent to the committee, according to an April 21 letter to the Federal Election Commission, Raw Story reported.
The FBI got involved when Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) was the victim of a cybertheft incident late last year that initially cost his campaign $690,000.
Raw Story reported that other current and former Republican members of Congress targeted by thieves include Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas (his campaign lost $157,626), former Rep. John Katko of New York ($14,000), Rep. Neal Dunn of Florida ($10,855), Rep. Russell Fry of South Carolina ($2,607.98) and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida ($362.04).
The Republican National Committee and Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) also experienced campaign cash thefts.
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The problem isn’t unique to Republicans: In November 2022, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s campaign fell victim to check fraud worth $10,085, Raw Story reported, and President Joe Biden’s 2020 Democratic presidential campaign committee lost at least $71,000, according to Business Insider.
One-time Democratic presidential candidate and congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and rapper-turned-2020 presidential candidate Ye, formerly Kanye West, are among others who reported money stolen from their political accounts.
Other PACs losing campaign cash to thieves include the Business Industry Political Action Committee ($14,156) and the State Farm Insurance PAC ($12,220), Raw Story reported.
The political action committees of Google, National Association of Manufacturers, Consumer Technology Association, National Air Traffic Controllers Association, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, MoveOn.org, and law firms Akerman LLP and Blank Rome LLP have also experienced theft of various kinds, ranging from cyber theft to forgeries and check tampering, according to Business Insider.