Oregon election officials will fine the Oregon Democratic Party $15,000 and ask the state attorney general to investigate a cryptocurrency executive who donated $500,000 to the party under a false name last year.
The announcement Thursday by the Secretary of State’s Office of Elections Division was the result of a seven-month-long investigation into a $500,000 donation by cryptocurrency exchange FTX executive Nishad Singh.
The Oregon Democratic Party initially reported that one of its largest October 2022 donations came from Las Vegas-based cryptocurrency startup Prime Trust, but has since corrected itself. bottom Repeated inquiries from The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The party then identified the true donor as Nishad Singh, FTX’s director of engineering.sinin February pleaded guilty The company has filed criminal charges, including wire fraud, money laundering and campaign finance violations, and has agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors in filing fraud charges against the company’s founder, Sam Bankman Freed.
As part of the federal investigation, Singh was sued in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York using funds from Alameda, another FTX and Bankman-Fried company, and Oregon election administrator Alma Whalen. He has sworn an admission that he has made a political contribution. said in a statement.
“Following a seven-month investigation, we believe this is sufficient information to justify a referral to the Oregon Department of Justice, which is considering prosecuting Mr. Singh under state law for making donations under a false name. We are thinking,” said Waren.
Making a donation under a false name is a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $125,000.
The investigation found no clear evidence that the Democrats knew the true donors when they reported the donations, according to the news release. The department reached a settlement with the party, which requires the party to pay a $15,000 fine and publicly announce measures to prevent future mistakes.
Election chief Molly Ng served as the party’s public relations chief and deputy chief for three years. She never backed down from the investigation.
Secretary of State Shemir Fagan resigned last week after being exposed as a consultant and campaign financier for cannabis companies while his office audited the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.
Gov. Tina Kotek told reporters on Wednesday that she is taking time to appoint a new secretary of state to find a candidate who can restore the credibility that Fagan’s actions have shaken.
“This is unlike previous appointments that had statewide legislators who died while in office,” she said. “This is a scandal. This is a crisis of trust in government agencies.”
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