Midwest Dem Caught Funneling Campaign Funds To Family

Nepotism
No wonder my family hoped I'd go into politics...

The Democratic Representative William Lacy Clay has paid his own sister’s firm a sum of more than a $100,000 from his own campaign funds in this year so far, as per the filings of Federal Election Commission.

In this cycle of the fiscal year, nearly 65 percent of the Representative Clay’s campaign expenditures were directed towards the firm that his sister owns.

The latest Federal Election Commission filings show that Clay Junior for Congress, the campaign committee of the congressman had compensated generously towards the Law Office of Michelle C. Clay LLC, a Silver Spring, Md.–based firm that is owned and operated by his own sister, Michelle.

The firm which does not even has its own website and lists only a residential home as their address, was paid $26000 during the third quarter, which starts from the beginning of July to September end.

His sister’s firm was provided $8500 on July 5th for the fundraising and compliance services. The next month saw Michelle being paid $9000 from the Clay’s campaign on August 1st. The firm was also paid an additional $9000 on September 1st again from her brother’s campaign committee as per the filings.

The campaign further spent a massive $50,000 during the third quarter, meaning that the $26,000 in the payments that Clay had paid his sister’s firm accounts for more than at least half of the committee’s own expenditures during this time frame.

A figure close to 65 percent of all expenditures from the Representative Clay’s campaign committee this year have potentially gone to his sister’s firm.

As per the first quarter, which spans from Jan. 1 to March 31, Representative Clay’s campaign committee paid the firm $27,000. While through the second quarter, from April 1 to June 30, the Law Office of Michelle Clay was paid further $54,100. The firm has till date taken in a sum totaling $107,000 in payments on the year so far.

The committee also reports spending another $164,908 this year with Michelle Clay’s firm receiving a majority of all the money that has left her brother’s campaign. Representative Clay has consistently paid thousands of dollars to another company for fundraising services despite paying massively to his sister’s firm for the same thing.

Fraioli & Associates, a Washington, D.C.-based political campaign consulting firm had dedicated to electing Democrats, received three payments for fundraising during the third quarter, as per the records show. Fraioli & Associates received consistent payments for their fundraising help throughout the year 2017.

Michelle Clay has received more than $800,000 in payments from her brother’s campaign since the starting of 2002, as per a source following this case.

Representative Clay’s office never returned a request for comment on the matter of payments to his sister’s law firm by press time.

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