Anna Paulina Luna Opponent Amanda Makki Allegedly Violated Federal Campaign Finance Law
May 19, 2022 Updated 8:46 A.M. ET
ST. PETERSBURG (FLV) – Republican Congressional Candidate Amanda Makki allegedly used campaign funds to pay energy and cable bills, according to a report from Business Insider.
Makki is running for Florida’s 13the Congressional District which is currently held by Democrat U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist. Business Insider provided a letter that the Federal Election Commission sent to Makki’s campaign asking for clarification on the payments. According to the letter, the campaign spent more than $600 in payments to Duke Energy.
The FEC said using campaign funds for personal use is not allowed. The campaign cannot use funds for mortgage, rent or utilities for the candidate’s personal use.
An attorney for the Makki campaign, Eric Wang, told Business Insider that the campaign thought they could use the funds because Makki’s home is her campaign headquarters.
“The campaign has used her home for campaign organizational and strategy meetings, campaign fundraising, general work space for campaign staff and volunteers, printing materials for her campaign, storage space for campaign materials, campaign media appearances, and media production associated with her campaign,” he said.
Makki reportedly reimbursed the campaign for the six months of home office usage and according Business Insider, the FEC has not penalized Makki’s campaign.
“Amanda’s campaign has taken prompt measures to enhance its FEC recordkeeping and reporting operations, including retaining a new compliance team,” Wang said.
