Super PAC Founders, Who Pretended To Raise Funds For Trump & Clinton, Charged With Fraud

Three men who ran two super political action committees to raise money for former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election have been indicted on eight counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy, court documents that were unsealed on Wednesday have revealed.

Robert Reyes, Matt Tunstall and his cousin Kyle Davies, the founders of Liberty Action Group PAC, which claimed to support Trump, and Progressive Priorities PAC, which supposedly backed Clinton, stand accused of pocketing millions of dollars in donated money through their scam.

“From in and around January 2016 through in and around April 2017, rather than using contributions for political activity, Liberty Action Group and Progressive Priorities transferred approximately $1.5 million in political contributions to Tunstall’s personal and business bank accounts; approximately $714,000 in political contributions to accounts held by Reyes; and approximately $84,385 in political contributions to accounts held by Davies,” the 20-page indictment alleges.

“It was a purpose of the conspiracy for Tunstall, Reyes, Davies and others to enrich themselves by obtaining money under false pretenses from supporters of candidates for the Office of President of the United States during the 2016 election cycle,” it adds.

Reyes, Tunstall and Davies “instead used the funds they acquired through the scheme to pay for additional fraudulent solicitations for money, to enrich themselves directly, and to support their independent, unrelated business ventures,” the indictment continues.

According to court records, the PACs – which were not actually affiliated with either presidential candidate – inundated voters with robocalls that were laced with misleading or outright false information. In fact, “only approximately $19 were distributed to any candidate’s authorized campaign committee or to any political cause, while a total of more than $1.5 million was used to benefit” the scammers.

Tunstall and Reyes could face up to 125 years in prison if they are convicted on all charges, while Davies faces a maximum possible sentence of 65 years.