On Wednesday, it was announced that a former congressional staffer had pleaded guilty for his involvement in a scheme carried out to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from charitable foundations. 46-year-old Jason T. Posey of Mississippi pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud, wire fraud and one count of money laundering. The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on March 29, 2018.
Admissions made in connection with the plea confirm that Posey worked as the director of special projects and treasurer for the campaign committee of former Congressman Stephen E. Stockman. He held that position from January 2013 to November of 2013. Posey admitted that he another staffer, 38-year-old Thomas Dodd, funneled $15,000 charitable proceeds into the campaign back account at Stockman’s instruction.
This also caused the campaign to file false reports with the Federal Election Commission. The reports falsely stated that the money was contributions from the staffers or their parents. Posey was also directed to send a letter to a charitable donor falsely claiming that the donor’s $350,000 donation had been utilized to support a charitable endeavor. In reality, the company was used for other purposes, such as funding Stockman’s campaigns.
Posey also admitted that he and Stockman raised more than $450,000 for Stockman’s 2014 Senate Campaign. They did this by falsely claiming that the money would be used to support an independent advocacy group, which was created by Posey. Stockman supposedly directed and supervised the activities of the group and used it to aid his campaign. Posey also confirmed that he filed a false affidavit with the FEC in an attempt to hide the scheme.
Dodd pleaded guilty in March of this year. Stockman is scheduled to go to trial on January 29, 2018. He is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.