Reasonable Inference
Where fraudulent contributions are submitted via ActBlue’s internet platform, each electronic transmission constitutes a potential wire fraud predicate under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, which broadly covers any scheme to obtain money or property by false pretenses transmitted “by means of wire . . . communication in interstate or foreign commerce.” Wire fraud carries a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment per count. A conspiracy charge under 18 U.S.C. § 371 adds up to five years per scheme, yielding a combined maximum exposure of up to 25 years across the two counts.
Citations
18 U.S.C. § 1343 (“Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.”), available at https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1343 . Internet transmissions through online payment platforms constitute wire communications in interstate commerce within the meaning of § 1343. See Presidential Memorandum, “Investigation into Unlawful Straw Donor and Foreign Contributions in American Elections” (Apr. 24, 2025), available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/investigation-into-unlawful-straw-donor-and-foreign-contributions-in-american-elections/ (directing DOJ investigation into, inter alia, straw donor contributions submitted through online fundraising platforms).
18 U.S.C. § 371 (“If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.”), available at https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/371 . The 25-year figure reflects the combined statutory maximums across separate counts (20 years per § 1343 count + 5 years per § 371 count); it is not a single-count ceiling.