Patrick Colbeck

ActBlue Enables Illegal Foreign National Contributions

Campaign Finance, Financial Influence, Reasonable Inference, United States /

Reasonable Inference ActBlue security negligence enables illegal foreign national contributions. 52 U.S.C. § 30121 law prohibits foreign nationals from making any direct or indirect contribution in connection with any U.S. election. Receiving committees are also prohibited from soliciting, accepting, or receiving such contributions. Felony threshold: >$25,000/year. Citations John Solomon, ‘Questions mount about ActBlue’s security,’ Just

ActBlue Enables Illegal Foreign National Contributions Read More »

ActBlue Donation Profiles Are Straw Donations (US)

Campaign Finance, Disputed Fact, Featured, Financial Influence, United States /

Disputed Fact ActBlue Smurf donation profiles appear to violate federal law. 52 U.S.C. § 30122 (US) prohibits making a contribution in the name of another person, permitting one’s name to be used for such a contribution, or knowingly accepting a contribution made in another’s name. Criminal penalties attach at >$2,000 (misdemeanor) and >$25,000/year (felony). Citations

ActBlue Donation Profiles Are Straw Donations (US) Read More »

ActBlue Leverages FEC Reporting Loophole By Using Straw Donors Used (US)

Campaign Finance, Financial Influence, Reasonable Inference, United States /

Reasonable Inference Where a coordinating actor directs multiple nominal donors to make contributions earmarked for a common recipient, those contributions are attributed to the original source — not the nominal donor — and aggregate against that source’s individual contribution limits. The conduit or intermediary is required to report the original source and intended recipient to

ActBlue Leverages FEC Reporting Loophole By Using Straw Donors Used (US) Read More »

Address Clustering — Same Address, Multiple Donor Names, Near-Simultaneous Contributions (US)

Campaign Finance, Established Fact, Financial Influence, United States /

Established Fact Instances appear in public FEC records in which the same physical address is associated with multiple donor names making near-simultaneous contributions to the same recipients — a pattern consistent with identity fabrication or credential harvesting at a single address. Citations “ActBlue wrote to Sift specifically about its failure to detect a fraud campaign

Address Clustering — Same Address, Multiple Donor Names, Near-Simultaneous Contributions (US) Read More »

Geographic Clustering — High Contribution Rates in Low-Income Zip Codes (US)

Campaign Finance, Disputed Fact, Financial Influence, United States /

Disputed Fact FEC data analysis identified contribution patterns attributed to donors whose listed occupations are unemployed, retired, or on fixed income at frequencies and aggregate amounts inconsistent with known demographic donation behavior — a population that historically accounts for a negligible share of political giving. Separate analysis confirmed that tens of thousands of donor identities

Geographic Clustering — High Contribution Rates in Low-Income Zip Codes (US) Read More »

Anomalous Sub-threshold Contribution Clustering in FEC Data (US)

Campaign Finance, Established Fact, Financial Influence, United States /

Established Fact Analysis of public FEC filings identified statistically anomalous frequencies of contributions in exact round-dollar amounts ($1, $5, $10, $15) attributed to single named donors over compressed time periods — a pattern inconsistent with typical individual donor behavior. Citations Analysis of FEC bulk data (Schedule A filings), FEC.gov, https://www.fec.gov/data/browse-data/?tab=bulk-data Election Research Institute, Anomalous Contribution

Anomalous Sub-threshold Contribution Clustering in FEC Data (US) Read More »

Congressional Referral Letters to DOJ and FEC (2023–2024) (US)

Campaign Finance, Established Fact, Financial Influence, United States /

Established Fact Members of the House Administration and Judiciary Committees transmitted formal letters to the DOJ and FEC requesting investigation of ActBlue’s donor verification practices, citing constituent complaints and FEC data anomalies. Citations Formal letter from House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, and Oversight Chairman James Comer to U.S. Attorney General Pam

Congressional Referral Letters to DOJ and FEC (2023–2024) (US) Read More »

Unauthorized ActBlue Donation Complaints (NC)

Campaign Finance, Disputed Fact, Financial Influence, North Carolina, United States /

Disputed Fact Reports indicate the North Carolina State Board of Elections received complaints from residents whose identities appear to have been used in unauthorized ActBlue transactions, and that the matter was referred for further review. Official confirmation of formal referral is limited. Citations Patrick Gannon, ‘North Carolina elections board fields complaints about ActBlue donations,’ NC

Unauthorized ActBlue Donation Complaints (NC) Read More »

Suspicious Elderly Donations (US)

Campaign Finance, Disputed Fact, Financial Influence, United States /

Disputed Fact Reporting identified elderly individuals — some reportedly in their 80s and 90s, including those hospitalized or deceased — whose names appeared in FEC records as making hundreds of small rapid-fire contributions via ActBlue without apparent authorization. Citations Caden Pearson, “ActBlue Donor Fraud Allegations Mount,” The Epoch Times, Oct. 4, 2023 (not independently verified by

Suspicious Elderly Donations (US) Read More »

Donor Complaints — Just the News / Solomon Investigation (US)

Campaign Finance, Established Fact, Financial Influence, United States /

Established Fact Investigative reporting identified dozens of individuals whose names appear in FEC records as making large volumes of small, repeated contributions via ActBlue whom, when contacted, stated they had made no such contributions and did not recognize the transactions. Citations John Solomon & Steven Richards, ‘Hundreds of ActBlue donors say they never made contributions

Donor Complaints — Just the News / Solomon Investigation (US) Read More »