Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and her campaign manager ran a “subsidy scheme,” according to a new Federal Election Commission complaint that alleges they abused campaign finance laws.
The complaint, filed Wednesday, claims Ocasio-Cortez and Saikat Chakrabarti, her campaign manager, used PAC money funneled through an LLC to “subsidize cheap assistance for Ocasio-Cortez and other candidates at rates far below market value.”
The complaint, obtained by Fox News, alleges Chakrabarti’s group Brand New Congress LLC, which took on Ocasio-Cortez on as a client, was charging clients under market value and subsidizing losses with PAC money; therefore, providing candidates who signed on to the LLC with illegal campaign contributions.
Dan Backer, a conservative attorney, contends both Ocasio-Cortez and Chakrabarti ran afoul of a group of FEC Advisory Opinions from the 1990s which say political campaigns must pay fair market value for campaign services or include them as in-kind contributions.
Backer’s complaint claims that Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign used the Justice Democrats PAC and Brand New Congress PAC to subsidize the LLC.
The Justice Democrats PAC stated in a 2018 blog post that the goal of Brand New Congress LLC “was not to make a profit” but to sell services to candidates at the lowest price without breaching FEC requirements.
This is Backer’s second complaint against Ocasio-Cortez in the last month.
