The Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 filed complaints that allege that two companies - Utah-based F8 LLC and Eli Publishing - may have violated federal campaign finance law when they donated to Restore Our Future, a SuperPAC run by former associates of Romney. The names of the firms’ owners were not listed on campaign finance reports, and the complaints suggest they could be shell companies used solely to make the contributions.
The complaints from the watchdog groups follow their call last week for an investigation into a $1 million contribution to the committee from a company called W Spann, whose owner was not listed on campaign or corporate records.
“The use of ‘straw companies’ to funnel money anonymously into Restore Our Future does not appear to have been limited to a single company, but seems to be a pattern that places additional urgency on the need for the FEC and DOJ to vigorously investigate these companies and to enforce the laws on the books before this problem becomes even more widespread,’’ said Paul S. Ryan, FEC program director at the Campaign Legal Center.
Federal law prohibits giving money in another person or entity’s name to political candidates or committees, and violators could face civil and criminal penalties for knowingly participating in such a scheme - either as the original contributor, the person or entity acting as a go-between, or the campaign or committee receiving the money.
The new complaints go further than those filed last week, saying that authorities also should scrutinize Restore Our Future.
“The fact that Restore Our Future has been the recipient of all three mysterious $1 million contributions warrants exploration of the PAC’s knowledge of or involvement in this ‘straw company’ donation scheme,’’ Ryan said.
A spokeswoman for the committee, Brittany Gross, declined to comment yesterday.
The Federal Election Commission could not immediately confirm whether it had received the complaint. The FEC and the Department of Justice, as a matter of policy, do not comment on such complaints or say whether they plan to investigate.
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