Tommy Tuberville has made a name for himself on the football field, but it’s his moves off of it that have some Alabama voters scratching their heads.
With the help of President Trump, the former Auburn coach successfully shut down career politician Jeff Sessions in a Republican runoff in July and is facing Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in a high-stakes November matchup.
With Alabama’s deep-red ties, Jones’s seat is likely one of the GOP’s best shots at picking up a win as Republicans try to maintain a Senate majority. A poll conducted by Cygnal last week put Tuberville 13 points up on his opponent.
Tuberville, a white-haired social conservative, has run a mostly under-the-radar campaign, dodging debates and questions from the media. He has appeared to be relying on Trump’s endorsement to pull him across the finish line. But with less than a week to go, a closer look into Tuberville’s business dealings has brought up some troubling concerns about the first-time candidate’s financial acumen, something his opponent has seized on in the final days of the campaign.
Tuberville has been linked to three people who were convicted of fraud in what has been described as Ponzi schemes, according to the New York Times. In two of those cases, Tuberville lost millions of dollars. In the third, his wife bought a house through a company created by a person who was later accused and convicted of running a real estate-related Ponzi scheme.
Tuberville’s charity for veterans has also been under scrutiny for spending the majority of its money on golf outings, marketing, and a truck. During a Facebook event, Jones took aim at Tuberville’s financial fumbles.
“If you look at these (tax) documents, you will see there are serious questions about the foundation and how it is spending its money,” Jones said, pointing to an entry on the foundation’s 2017 return listing a truck among its assets. “The numbers do not add up from one thing to the next.”
When pressed, a suddenly media-shy Tuberville has claimed to be a victim, and his campaign shot down questions by claiming they were part of an orchestrated attack by Democrats.
“The national news media is manufacturing fake narratives and working hand-in-glove with the Doug Jones campaign to try to salvage his failing candidacy and divert attention away from his pro-abortion, anti-gun, and open border Senate voting record,” Tuberville’s campaign manager Paul Shashy said in a statement.
While Tuberville is likely to win the Senate seat, political pollster Zac McCrary believes voters should consider Tuberville’s financial decisions before casting their votes.
“People know who Tuberville is as a football coach, but they don’t really know who he is beyond that,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “This purely goes to his judgment, purely goes to his ethics.”
Peggy Grogs, an Augusta, Georgia, native who moved to Birmingham, Alabama, two years ago, told the Washington Examiner she’s still “Team Tubs” but that reports of financial mismanagement did give her pause.
“Coach knows what he is doing, but I think he should address it,” she said.
Tax filings for the Tommy Tuberville Foundation, which was formed in 2014 to work on veterans’ issues, shows inconsistencies and questionable accounting moves that could put a damper on Tuberville’s political plans. He has also openly stated he wants to be a member of the prestigious Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee but once told an AL.com reporter, “I’m not smart enough to understand all of the numbers.”
As for his foundation, it raised about $231,463 but spent only $44,000 on its three biggest charitable programs from 2015 to 2017.
According to a 2014 990EZ tax form, the foundation was created in New Lenox, Illinois, for $645. A year later, the foundation held a golf fundraiser that cost $24,224 to run and brought in $117,688, banking $93,464. The tax filing said the foundation spent $15,153 to renovate veterans’ homes, but of that amount, only $8,763 went toward materials, while the rest was spent on promoting the cause.
The foundation’s 2016 990 showed the foundation grossed $81,034, with revenue of $63,689. The tax forms revealed only $23,745 went to veterans. The charity spent $37,908 on professional fees and contractors, much more than the organization spent the year before and about $14,000 more than it spent on its pledge to help veterans. That year, it also reported $3,458 for parking and auto-related expenses.
In 2017, Tuberville’s foundation filed a 990-PF and claimed $50,087. However, nothing in the form shows any type of charitable giving. Instead, $7,503 was spent on legal fees, $5,800 on marketing, and $5,992 on meals and entertainment. The foundation also shelled out $27,369 on a truck.
In 2018, the foundation filed another 990EZ form claiming a total gross of $40,750, noting it gave $4,536 for Flags for Vets and $3,249 for Warriors Rest. When questions arose about how the rest was spent, Tuberville’s campaign floated an internal memo showing another $19,425 to the media. The campaign claimed its 2018 990 filing did not reflect payments to the founder of a home for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“The 990s filed in 2015 and 2016 reflect many but not all of the aid to veterans and volunteer activities provided by the foundation,” Gary Maloney, a spokesman for the Tuberville campaign, said. “These activities were reported and described in news stories at the time.”
Despite the discrepancies, most political analysts don’t believe Tuberville’s financial record will make or break his Senate run.
The Alabama Republican Party told the Washington Examiner that it has “full confidence” in Tuberville transitioning from a retired college football coach to a U.S. senator. “We expect a solid flip of this seat on Tuesday, Nov. 3,” Alabama GOP Chairman Terry Lathan said. “We look forward to soon-to-be Sen. Tuberville’s voting record to reflect the will of Alabamians, which is the opposite of what we have had since December 2017.”
