The FBI is looking into allegations of a $690,000 theft from Senator Jerry Moran’s campaign, as detailed in documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.
According to a statement issued to the Federal Elections Commission by Jerry Moran’s campaign, the Republican senator from Kansas is facing charges that cyber hackers stole approximately $700,000.
Treasurer Timothy Gottschalk of the Moran campaign filed Form 99 with the FEC on December 8, 2022, informing them of “fraudulent behavior by a third-party cyber-criminal” in the campaign’s financial reports.
On November 14, Moran’s campaign reported to the FEC that Astra Bank had alerted their office about suspicious behavior involving two wire transactions to SRCP Media Inc. totaling $690,000.
Two wire transfers totaling $345,000 were issued on October 25 and November 9.
According to the letter, the Moran campaign notified the Republic County Kansas Sheriff’s Office about the theft on November 16. The matter was handed over to the FBI and is still being looked into.
Astra Bank informed Moran’s campaign on November 23 that $168,184.03 of the November 9 wire payment was recovered from Wells Fargo Bank.
Raw Story, a progressive left-leaning news website, was the first to reveal the FEC filing.
Moran’s office has been called out to by Fox News for comment.
A spokeswoman for the Moran campaign informed the Kansas City Star, “Cyber thieves attacked the accounting company utilized by Moran For Kansas, and money was sent to bogus bank accounts.” When a disparity was discovered, it was reported to the authorities immediately.
The spokesperson continued, “There is an ongoing investigation with the FBI, and we are exploring all options possible to recover the money.”
Moran easily won reelection in November, beating out his Democratic opponent Mark Holland by a 60.1% to 36.9% margin. In the 2022 election cycle, Moran’s campaign spent more than $4.6 million.