A newly elected Florida congressman admitted that he may have violated federal campaign finance laws with loans he accepted from personal friends and funneled to his campaign.
Ross Spano, a Republican, said in a press release Saturday that he borrowed $185,000 from two friends, Cary Carreno and Karen Hunt, from June through October and then lent his congressional campaign $167,000 in the same time frame, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Spano said the loans to his campaign were from his “personal funds.”
The congressman-elect disclosed the possible violation to the Federal Election Commission and said he received bad legal advice regarding use of the loans.
“When Rep.-elect Spano took out the personal four loans and when Rep.-elect Spano made the four loans to [his campaign], he believed he was acting in full compliance with the law,” a lawyer for Spano wrote in a letter to the FEC, according to reports.
Spano’s campaign said it now recognizes that some of the money from the personal loans to Spano and then used for his campaign may have been in violation of federal law.
Under campaign finance law, loans to candidates from friends or relatives “for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office” are considered contributions subject to limitations. An individual can donate up to $2,700 per election to a candidate.
Spano defeated Democrat Kristen Carlson in the race to represent Florida’s 15th Congressional District.
Carlson asked the FBI to investigate whether Spano broke the law with his campaign funds.
