‘Smurfing’ new era of campaign donation fraud, GOP consultant says identity fraudulently used to donate to ActBlue

Republican and Democratic parties logos displayed on a phone screen and American flag displayed on a laptop screen are seen in this multiple exposure illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on August 25, 2022.

Mike Berry, Executive Director of America First Policy Institute’s Center for Litigation and Mark Block, a Republican consultant break down the new campaign donation fraud scheme and how “smurfing” evades FEC reporting requirements and creates the illusion of thousands of small-dollar donors to a campaign. “The defendant in this case is actually John Doe because we don’t know who’s actually the one that is funneling this money to these far-left causes. But we want to find out who it is and we want to put a stop to it,” he says. Mark Block explains how he discovered an old email account he used while working for Herman Cain’s 2012 presidential campaign had been used to donate to ActBlue, a major Democrat fundraising platform. Block filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin state court Monday alleging he is the victim of identity theft in a conspiracy to abuse ActBlue. “In my opinion, if they really find out where this money came from, the American public’s going to be shocked at how much of it’s come from overseas,” he says.

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