“Straw Company” Complaints to FEC & DOJ Supplemented With Additional Information Regarding Funder & FreedomWorks’ Role

Today, Democracy 21 joined the Campaign Legal Center in supplementing complaints to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding possible violations of campaign finance law by two companies seemingly created for the purpose of funneling $12 million to the Super PAC FreedomWorks for America while hiding the identity of the donor.  New information uncovered by The Washington Post indicates that Illinois millionaire Richard J. Stephenson was the source of the $12 million and that FreedomWorks itself, led by executive vice president Adam Brandon, orchestrated the scheme for Stephenson to evade federal campaign finance disclosure laws.  The FEC and DOJ have been urged to investigate whether Stephenson, Brandon and FreedomWorks violated federal campaign finance laws by making and receiving political contributions in the names of two shell companies.

“If correct, the new information in the Washington Post article on December 25, 2012  provides further evidence of an apparent illegal scheme to hide from the American people the donor of $12 million to FreedomWorks for America’s Super PAC,” according to Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer. “The article and other reports indicate that the donor, FreedomWorks and the companies that served as vehicles for keeping the donor secret, all played an active role in carrying out this apparent illegal scheme to evade the disclosure laws. It is incumbent on the Justice Department and the FEC to promptly investigate this matter and take appropriate action.”

The two companies named in the original complaint, Specialty Group Inc. and Kingston Pike Development LLC, were both created by William S. Rose of Knoxville, Tennessee in late September 2012 and over the six weeks leading up to Election Day funneled more than $12 million to FreedomWorks.