Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran’s campaign was allegedly scammed out of $690,000 in funds by cyber-criminals in the most recent election cycle.
The campaign’s accounting firm wired funds to fraudulent bank accounts after it received fraudulent invoices from SRCP Inc., a Washington, D.C., based media firm paid to handle Moran’s advertising, according to The Associated Press (AP). (RELATED: Rep. Ruben Gallego Announces Senate Run, Setting Up Showdown With Kyrsten Sinema)
Moran’s campaign wired $345,000 on Oct. 25 and another $345,000 on Nov. 9, campaign Treasurer Timothy Gottschalk said in a letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Dec. 8. The letter made the FEC aware of “fraudulent activity by a third-party cyber-criminal” and it was first reported by RawStory.
ICYMI: @RawStory today discovered that cyberthieves stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the political campaign account of Sen. @JerryMoran, R-Kansas, and that the @FBI is investigating. https://t.co/sLwjcHTHGt
— Dave Levinthal (@davelevinthal) January 21, 2023
The campaign reported the fraudulent activity by local authorities on Nov. 16, two days after the wire transfers were flagged by Astra Bank, the letter says. The case was transferred to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) where it is currently being investigated, the letter specifies.
“As soon as a discrepancy was realized, it was reported to law enforcement,” a Moran spokesman told AP. “We are currently pursuing all avenues available to recover the money and there is an ongoing investigation with the FBI,” he added.
Moran was re-elected in November for a third term with 60% of the vote against Democrat Mark Holland. His campaign raised more than $7.3 million and spent $5.1 million, according to its FEC filings.
The Moran campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.