A former U.S. congressional candidate and his mistress have been indicted on charges of laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporations for campaign contributions, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said in a statement.
Former congressional candidate and finance executive Michelle Bond is accused of conspiring and making illegal campaign contributions in connection with her unsuccessful 2022 congressional election. Bond is scheduled to appear Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Press release read.
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“As alleged, Michelle Bond and her co-conspirator lover illegally used hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate and other sources and then lied to Congress and others in an attempt to raise funds for her U.S. House of Representatives campaign,” U.S. Attorney Damien Williams said. “The misconduct of elected officials undermines public confidence in our elections and our representative government more broadly. My office is committed to holding accountable officeholders and candidates who break the law.”
After Bond launched his campaign, the financial director's girlfriend, referred to in the statement as “CC-1,” allegedly entered into a consulting agreement between Bond and herself. Bond was then paid $400,000, which was used to fund his campaign, and CC-1 then allegedly transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bond. That money was then allegedly used to pay campaign expenses, loans, and donations, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. (Related article: Exclusive: Matt Gaetz introduces bill to prevent campaign finance fraud)
According to the court Case RecordBond allegedly tried to cover up his actions by making false statements to a congressional committee and the Federal Election Commission.
Bonds is charged with one count of conspiracy to make illegal campaign contributions, one count of soliciting and accepting excessive campaign contributions, one count of soliciting and accepting illegal corporate contributions, and one count of soliciting and accepting intermediary contributions. If convicted on all four charges, Bonds could face up to 20 years in prison.
