The Election Fairness Institute (EFI), led by State Senator Mark Finchem (R-Prescott), identified what it believes is a money laundering scheme involving the Democratic political fundraising platform ActBlue, which EFI is referring to as “magic mortgages.”
EFI, a public interest nonprofit, said bad actors have potentially committed campaign finance violations and tax evasion, with possible ties to bulk cash smuggling. Several U.S. attorneys have expressed interest in investigating.
“This goes far beyond ‘Smurfing,’” EFI said in a press release, referring to the practice of using elderly, retired straw donors to launder contributions to mostly Democratic candidates. Experts say they believe Democratic operatives are conducting the Smurfing to hide illegal donations from foreigners, corporations, unions, or individuals who have exceeded contribution limits. In another document, EFI stated, “ActBlue’s massive political war chest appears to have been generated by a series of fictitious sales through off-the-books cash funds.”
EFI continued, “The net-net, that is, the combined net total of all transactions that fit the profile as mentioned above, is equal to $164,217,000. These transactions reach far beyond the notion of coincidence. However, as if their repetitive process is not enough to establish a strong case for racketeering, the dates of the massive transactions should raise even more questions.”
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