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Fraud charges fly over donation to Udall campaign

Schaffer backer's gift under false name a 'test'

By Ed Sealover, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 31, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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A Bob Schaffer supporter donated to Mark Udall's Senate campaign under a false name this week, wanting to test the Schaffer campaign's assertion that Udall is accepting untraceable donations.

Now the action has erupted into a firestorm in which both campaigns are accusing the other of fraud.

Schaffer campaign manager Dick Wadhams said that because Udall accepts money from sources such as prepaid credit cards that allow users to be anonymous, he can skirt campaign-finance limits and laws.

Udall staffers said in response that while their Web site that takes such donations complies with federal law, the Schaffer campaign broke the law by encouraging someone to provide false information while making a donation.

"The only campaign that has done anything wrong here is Bob Schaffer's campaign," Udall press secretary Tara Trujillo said.

Wednesday's Washington Post featured a story about Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama accepting donations from prepaid credit cards that can mask the giver's identity. Such cards are purchased at stores and can be used as cash without the card being linked to the spender.

Wadhams said that after he'd gotten a tip that Udall, a Democrat, allowed the same practice, a Schaffer supporter made two $1 donations under the name of Steve Mason and included a fake address without questioning from Udall's Web site. The unnamed supporter tried the same thing with Schaffer's site but was prohibited from doing so, Wadhams said.

Schaffer finance director Janel Domenico said the Republican's Web site requires credit card users to input their billing ZIP code and rejects anyone whose ZIP code does not match with the cards. This is standard practice among stores, too, and a campaign would have to disable part of its security settings to accept prepaid cards without a billing address, she said.

Without any proof of who the donor is, a campaign could take money from individuals who want to give more than the $2,300 limit or from foreign residents who are banned from donating, Wadhams said.

"It opens the door for fraud," Wadhams said. "I don't understand why they would do it."

Trujillo responded by noting that there is nothing illegal about the practice and that Udall's Web site requires donors to confirm they are not breaking any federal law.

sealovere@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5438

Comments

  • October 31, 2008

    7:57 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    JohnSmith2 writes:

    Standard practice for stores? Really? I can't remember a store ever even asking for my ZIP code. Most places don't even require a signature anymore, you just swipe your card and go. I should know, I use my card everywhere. I don't even carry cash.

    Bob Schaffer's paid employee is your only expert source? This is what qualifies as reporting?

    How about naming this unnamed donor. Any bets on whether it rhymes with Rick Fraudhams?

  • October 31, 2008

    8:05 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    DougH writes:

    This is all just a bunch of hypothetical posturing by Wadhams and his band of trouble makers.
    Prepaid Credit cards cost extra. The buyer has to pay a premium to the card. So why would anyone donate over $ 2.300 by using prepaid cards that cost them an extra $ 200.00 buck or so.

  • October 31, 2008

    9:45 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    In_da_know writes:

    The donor committed a federal crime. Under the Federal Election Campaign Act, 2 U.S.C. 441f, it is criminal to knowingly make a campaign contribution in the name of another.

    Likewise, receipt of funds in the name of another must be taken with a knowing falsity. Udall did not commit a crime.

    If I were the donor, I would note the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act included enhanced criminal penalties for FECA crimes making a violation of 441f punishable as a felony - subject to 2 years of imprisonment and mandatory minimum fines (see 2 U.S.C. 437g(d)(1)(A)(i).

    It's time for the DOJ to investigate this donor and also whether a conspiracy to commit a crime exists.