SALEM, Oregon (AP) – The Oregon Democratic Party announced Friday that it will send $500,000 donated by a former executive to the U.S. Marshals Service. Shameful Cryptocurrency Exchange FTXto comply with a request from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Oregon election officials had already fined Oregon Democrats $15,000 for misreporting the source of last year’s campaign funds. Republicans in the Oregon Senate have demanded that the state Democrats return $500,000 in campaign donations.
Oregon Democrats said they were responding to an April 13 request from the Justice Department. The party received money last fall from Nishad Singh, who pleaded guilty to federal criminal fraud charges, including one count of conspiracy to violate federal campaign finance laws. The party announced that Singh, who was an engineering director at failed cryptocurrency giant FTX, had lied to the party about who the donors were.
The party also announced that it would waive a $7,100 donation from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, also following a request from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Oregon Democratic Party Leader Rosa Colquitt said, “This resolution will help these people by ensuring that funds go where they belong: federal law enforcement officers working hard to achieve justice in this case.” It perfectly describes the donation.”
Colquitt said the payments to federal officials came from the campaign funds of Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, an Oregon U.S. Senator and three Democratic U.S. Representatives.
Shin pleaded guilty He faces charges including conspiring to make illegal political contributions and defrauding the Federal Election Commission. Prosecutors allege that Singh made donations to candidates and political committees and reported the donations to the committees in the names of people who did not actually pay them.
