Clean Elections Commission Moves to Seek $4.7 Million Repayment Over Alleged Fake Qualifying Donations

Overview

• Executive Director Tom Collins sent formal letters to Risa Lombardo, Duwayne Collier and Scott Neely and told them the commission will be asked Thursday to initiate proceedings that could require them to repay public funds.
• Commission staff found nearly 4,000 identical $5 qualifying contributions across the three campaigns, with more than 2,600 names listed as donors to all three candidates, a pattern the director called highly suspicious.
• At least six Arizona voters told reporters their names or signatures were used without consent on qualifying forms, and Collins’ review found many listed donors had no other donation history.
• The review found large, single bank deposits in May that matched the total reported $5 donations and were timed to applications for public funding, and the director flagged possible subcontractor reporting violations tied to a new firm called Bootstrap Campaigns.
• If the commission orders repayment, Lombardo could face about $2.8 million, Collier about $739,000 and Neely about $1.1 million, and state rules generally limit repayment to personal funds, remaining campaign money or tightly capped fundraising.