WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is the latest in a string of prominent politicians and political committees to lose campaign cash to a thief.
Schumer's campaign committee acknowledged to federal regulators that a check it cut in November was "fraudulently cashed by someone other than the intended recipient" a short time after its issuance, according to a letter to the Federal Election Commission that Raw Story obtained Monday.
The check, intended to pay a campaign "facilities and AV rental" bill, "was stolen after it was mailed and was fraudulently cashed by someone other than the intended recipient," Friends of Schumer campaign treasurer Constantine Dimas wrote the FEC.
"The Committee has no reason to believe the theft was committed by someone affiliated with the Committee or vendor," Dimas continued. "The Committee worked with its bank to report the theft to law enforcement and sought a refund from the bank."
Friends of Schumer campaign finance report indicating there had been a committee "check intercepted" by a thief. Source: Federal Election Commission
Dimas said Schumer's committee received a refund on March 30.
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While Friends of Schumer maintains "recommended internal controls to prevent misappropriations and associated misreporting," such internal controls "would not have helped prevent this situation where a check was stolen by a third party after it was mailed," Dimas added.
Even with the theft, Schumer's campaign coffer is among the most robust in politics, with Friends of Schumer reporting nearly $9.9 million in reserve as of Dec. 31, according to FEC records.
Representatives from Schumer's Senate offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
While it isn't immediately clear which law enforcement entity is investigating the Schumer campaign's intercepted check, although the FBI has this year has involved itself in previous thefts from political committees, including a cybertheft incident late last year that initially cost the campaign of Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) $690,000.
Raw Story in recent weeks has identified several current and former Republican members of Congress who’ve been victimized by fraudsters in what’s fast becoming open season on politicians’ campaign accounts.
Beyond Moran, other current and former members of Congress include Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas ($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 recent campaign cash thefts.
The problem isn’t unique to Republicans, either: In addition to Schumer's committee, President Joe Biden’s 2020 Democratic presidential campaign committee lost at least $71,000.
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.
Recently, the Business Industry Political Action Committee — the nation's oldest federal business— lost $14,156 to thieves, while the federal PAC of State Farm Insurance lost $12,220 to thieves, Raw Story first reported.
The McKesson Corporation, a pharmaceutical and medical supplies company, informed the FEC that it, too, had fallen victim to someone who "created, forged and cashed a fictitious PAC check for $12,000" on Nov. 7.
The McKesson Company Employees Political Fund notified its bank "immediately upon discovery of the fraudulent activity" and attempted to secure return of the lost funds.
"To date," the committee added, "the bank has not returned the stolen funds."
The political action committees of Google, National Association of Manufacturers, Consumer Technology Association, National Association of Home Builders, 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, be it cyber theft, forgeries or check tampering, according to Insider.
