A former U.S. House candidate and her lover have been charged with laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporations to finance her campaign, U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York said in a statement.
Michelle Bond, former congressional candidate and finance executive faces charges for allegedly conspiring to cause and making unlawful campaign contributions related to her failed 2022 run for Congress. Bond is scheduled to appear Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang, a U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York press release reads.
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“As alleged, Michelle Bond and her co-conspirator romantic partner attempted to fund her campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives by illegally using hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate coffers, among other sources, and then lying to Congress and others to cover it all up,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. “Misconduct by those campaigning for public office undermines public trust in American elections and in representative government more broadly. This Office is committed to holding elected officials and candidates accountable if they break the law.”
After launching her campaign, Bond’s lover, a finance executive referred to as (“CC-1”) in the statement, allegedly put together a consulting agreement between Bond and himself. Bond was then allegedly paid $400,000 which was used to finance her campaign, CC-1 then wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bond. The money was then allegedly used to pay campaign expenses, loans and contributions to the campaign, a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York read. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Matt Gaetz Introduces Legislation To Prevent Campaign Donation Fraud)
According to the court docket, Bond allegedly attempted to mask her conduct by making false statements to a congressional committee as well as the Federal Elections Commission.
Bond faces one count of conspiracy to cause unlawful campaign contributions, one count of causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions, one count of causing and receiving an unlawful corporate contribution, and one count of causing and receiving a conduit contribution. Bond faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all four charges.
