Maryott made 33 payments to campaign employees via Venmo without disclosing it
End Citizens United (ECU) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Brian Maryott, candidate for California’s 49th Congressional District. The complaint states that Maryott violated election law by failing to disclose payments made through Venmo for services and expenses that appear related to Maryott’s congressional campaign.
“Brian Maryott either thinks he’s above the law or he was hoping he wouldn’t get caught,” said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United. “Federal law regarding disclosure of campaign expenditures is abundantly clear. Maryott knows he’s supposed to disclose any campaign-related expenses, but he thought he could skirt the law by making under-the-table payments through Venmo. The FEC should immediately investigate Brian Maryott’s campaign and hold him accountable for trying to break the law.”
The violation:
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Beginning in January 2021 through November 2021, Maryott made at least 33 payments on Venmo directly to the individuals who were employees for his campaign.
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The descriptions used for these Venmo transactions suggest that many, if not all, of the payments were related to Maryott’s congressional campaign but were not included in the campaign’s disclosure reports.
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In addition to Maryott’s payments on Venmo, between January 2020 and November 2020, individuals employed by or performing work for the campaign also made payments through Venmo to each other for what appear to be campaign-related expenses that were not included in the campaign’s disclosure reports.
By federal law, a political campaign must accurately report all contributions received and expenditures made on its disclosure reports. The Act defines “contribution” and “expenditure” to include “anything of value,” which includes in-kind contributions. An “in-kind” contribution is any service or other thing of value provided to the committee. Candidates can pay for campaign expenditures with personal funds, but they must treat any expenditures that are not reimbursed by the campaign as in-kind contributions from the candidate. The committee must report each in-kind contribution it receives as a contribution and as an expenditure.
Click here to read the FEC complaint.
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