Oregon election officials will fine the Oregon Democratic Party $15,000 and ask the state attorney general to investigate the cryptocurrency executive who gave the party $500,000 last year under a false name.
Thursday's announcement from the Elections Division of the Office of the Secretary of State followed a seven-month investigation into the $500,000 contribution made by Nishad Singh, an executive at cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
The Oregon Democratic Party initially reported that the October 2022 contribution, one of its largest, came from a Las Vegas-based cryptocurrency company, Prime Trust, and only changed it after repeat inquiries from The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The party later identified the real donor as Nishad Singh, FTX's director of engineering. sing in February pleaded guilty to criminal charges including wire fraud, money laundering and campaign finance violations and has agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors when they bring fraud charges against the company's founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.
As part of the federal investigation, Singh admitted under oath in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York that he made political donations under his own name with money from FTX and Alameda, another Bankman-Fried company, Oregon Elections Manager Alma Whalen. she said in a statement.
โAfter a seven-month investigation, we believe this is sufficient information to warrant a referral to the Oregon Department of Justice to consider prosecuting Mr. Singh under state law for making a contribution under a false name,โ Whalen said.
Making a contribution under a false name is a Class C felony, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and fines up to $125,000.
The investigation found no clear evidence that the Democratic Party knew the true donor when it reported the contribution, according to a news release. The division reached an agreement with the party that will require it to pay a $15,000 fine and publicly post steps to prevent future mistakes.
Director of the Elections Division, Molly Woon, spent three years as director of communications and deputy head of the party. She did not recuse herself from the investigation.
Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigned last week following revelations that she worked as a consultant to a cannabis company and a campaign donor while her office audited the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.
Gov. Tina Kotek told reporters Wednesday that she was taking her time naming a new secretary of state to find a candidate who can win back the trust shaken by Fagan's actions.
โThis is not like some of the previous appointments when we had officials across the state who had died in office,โ he said. โThis is a scandal. This is a crisis of trust in the agency.โ
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