A former Council candidate will serve 60 days in jail for taking illegal campaign money from Uncle Earl.
Jeff Smith, who ran for the Ward 1 Council seat in 2010, pleaded guilty in June to filing a false and misleading report with the District of Columbia’s Office of Campaign Finance. The 40-year-old former executive director of DC VOICE concealed more than $140,000 in donations from Jeffrey Thompson, the businessman who funded shadow campaigns for several candidates in D.C., according to the government.
From a release:
According to a statement of offense submitted as part of Smith’s guilty plea, from at least December 2009 through December 2010, Smith, Thompson and others acted to make and to receive – and to conceal – campaign contributions in excess of those permitted under the District of Columbia Campaign Act.
Smith admitted that Thompson, with his knowledge, provided more than $140,000 of in-kind contributions, contributions which were concealed from the Office of Campaign Finance. Smith provided a budget to Thompson in March 2010, seeking $140,975 for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts for his campaign. Then, from March 2010 until September 2010, Thompson used funds, via [Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio and Associates] and [D.C. Healthcare Systems, Inc.], to provide more than $140,000 in coordination with and in support of Smith’s campaign committee. At least part of this money was spent on campaign services and materials.
As Loose Lips reports, Smith accused the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia’s office of wrongdoing and said his “campaign was not a fraud.”
“Despite all his illegal spending, Jeff Smith lost the election, and now his criminal activity has been exposed,” U.S. Attorney Ron Machen said in a statement. “He is among three candidates so far to admit receiving dirty money from Jeff Thompson, who has pled guilty to his crimes and is continuing to cooperate in our investigation. We remain determined to hold accountable all those who benefited from Jeff Thompson’s illegal campaign spending.”
