Republicans Stealing from the Government

Created a fictitious consulting company along with state reps. Glen Casada and Robin Smith where they charged taxpayers $51,947 for official mailing services and hid his involvement in the scheme by submitting fake invoices to state officials and also paid Casada and Smith a bribe in exchange for their help in securing government approval for the fake consulting company to operate as an official state vendor

Created a fictitious consulting company along with state rep. Robin Smith and his chief of staff where they charged taxpayers $51,947 for official mailing services and hid his involvement in the scheme by submitting fake invoices to state officials and also accepted bribes from his chief of staff in exchange for his help in securing government approval for the fake consulting company to operate as an official state vendor

Embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money meant for a development he never intended to build and used the money to purchase four vehicles, gold, silver and platinum bars, and to pay off personal debts

Illegally put pressure on a government official to reassess their decision on a property appraisal she had an interest in

Rushed to give his close friend and former business associate $170k in taxpayer dollars for contract work by skipping the public bidding process that is required by state law and was penalized by his peers with a lifetime ban from the state senate floor

Stole $15,940 from taxpayers by charging thousands in personal expenses on her government credit card and falsifying records to get paid for work she didn't do

Stole $4k in ad revenue from a calendar for the Sheriff's department that he led

Fraudulently received $30,120 in COVID unemployment benefits while he was still employed and concealed $54,700 in consulting fees he earned and "thousands of dollars in income" from the IRS when he filed his 2021 federal income taxes

Illegally obtained $122,000 in COVID relief funds for two of her businesses by falsifying documents about their total revenues, number of employees and whether the businesses were legally incorporated to begin with

Illegally operated his private business out of the mayor's office where he utilized public resources and personnel to improperly obtain government permits that enriched him personally and then encouraged at least one witness to lie to investigators if they were questioned

Used government funds to purchase a UTV for the sheriff's department that he had previously owned and falsely claimed the vehicle was new so he could evade rules that were in place to deter exactly what he did

Fraudulently spent $188,474 in COVID relief funds on three luxury sports cars and other expenses after he lied about his company's earnings by nearly 1M in order to increase his chances of getting more grant money

Illegally pocketed at least $36,000 in government wages by falsifying time sheets for poll-workers who didn't show up to their assigned shift and diverted the money to her personal bank account over a yearslong period

Illegally pocketed at least $36,000 in government wages by falsifying time sheets for poll-workers who didn't show up to their assigned shift and diverted the money to her personal bank account over a yearslong period

Illegally pocketed at least $36,000 in government wages by falsifying time sheets for poll-workers who didn't show up to their assigned shift and diverted the money to her personal bank account over a yearslong period

Illegally pocketed at least $36,000 in government wages by falsifying time sheets for poll-workers who didn't show up to their assigned shift and diverted the money to her personal bank account over a yearslong period

Stole $9,657 in proceeds from an online auction of old government-owned vehicles

Illegally obtained over $45,000 in Small Business Covid-Relief Funds out of $150,000 he applied for by claiming that dormant companies he owned with no employees actually had 6 employees and revenue of $800k and then lied to federal agents when they questioned him about it

Funneled over $1.5 million in taxpayer funds and from a charity he managed to his personal accounts which he then used to make multiple "large cash withdrawals," pay his personal credit card bills, make political donations and gamble

Illegally paid $92,800 in taxpayer funds to his legislative aide's relatives to pay for rent at two cottages located well outside his district by falsely declaring that one cottage was his district office which entitled him to a taxpayer funded stipend

Engineered an illegal $233,647 taxpayer funded payment to himself from the Maryland Environmental Service by lying that then Maryland Governor Larry Hogan approved it as his severance

Stole an unknown amount from parking meters that was supposed to be deposited into a government bank account and sold government office furniture through a social media account with the intention of keeping the money he made from the sale

Used his stature as the second highest-ranking member of the state senate to push through legislation that he knew would have a direct positive impact on his wife's finances she otherwise would not have been able to pursue if the law weren't changed

Illegally collected Social Security Disability and retirement benefits from the government by neglecting to inform them about the more than $132,000 he earned working on political campaigns which would have drastically reduced the number of benefits he would have been eligible for

Embezzled $400k in taxpayer money by using a government issued credit card on personal purchases including cryptocurrency and professional sports memorabilia

Illegally allowed police deputies she oversaw to stay "on the clock" and also accrue vacation time during supposed volunteer work done outside their normal work hours

Made police deputies and other staff members perform non-work services for his personal businesses and on his property for his benefit during their work hours

Received over $400k in federal COVID relief by falsely claiming two defunct businesses were still operational

Used a government-issued credit card for personal expenses including gasoline, claimed mileage for trips that he used a government-owned vehicle for over a yearslong period, pressured a witness to lie to federal investigators and lied to investigators himself

Embezzled $46,500 including $27,500 from the city of Stockton, CA with the help of his executive assistant

Pocketed $46,500 in state grants designated for community upgrades by manipulating the bidding process to award his company a contract for work that was never done

Funneled $750k from a taxpayer-funded account that was supposed to feed inmates in the county jail he oversaw to pay for a $740k home that he likely would have never been able to afford on his yearly salary alone

Funneled roughly $2.3 million to his private businesses by leveraging his status as state Speaker of the House and chair of the Alabama Republican Party to solicit favors from some of Alabama's most influential politicians (including former Gov. Bob Riley) and businesspeople

Spent tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds on private jets, automobiles, tickets to the Super Bowl, massages and cigars and many other things over a five-year period

Charged local taxpayers to reimburse him $1,331 on expenses he spent entertaining a subordinate he was having an extramarital affair with and on rental cars he used to visit the woman and his wife on different weekends

Stole $6,200 dollars from the sheriff department's bank account which he used to pay for his re-election parties in 1998 and 2002 and to reimburse an employee for a travel expense and then obstructed justice by attempting to cover his tracks on expense reports

Illegally obtained license plates without paying the required $758 fee and then altered public records to make it appear she paid it