Rubio Alleges Democratic Fundraising Vehicle is a 'Facilitator of Fraud'

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has a sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) Chairwoman and Vice Chairman, Dara Lindenbaum and Sean J. Cooksey to inquire about ActBlue (a major fundraiser for the Democratic Party) and their donation practices.

Sen. Rubio alleges that their methods are illegal, especially when it comes to receiving funds from senior citizens.

The Rubio press release prefaces the letter, stating, “ActBlue, a major fundraiser for the Democratic Party, has purportedly engaged in thousands of dollars in campaign donations through small donors, including senior citizens, via illegal contributions, without those donors’ consent or awareness.”

The organization does not require a card certification verification value (CVV) number (the three-digit code on the back of a debit or credit card) from individuals attempting to donate, which can be ripe for fraud and can aid in “unlawful foreign transactions.”

Sen. Rubio states that many senior citizens have donate thousands of times without even knowing, according to reports made to the FEC.

“These reports indicate that numerous individuals, including senior citizens, have purportedly donated to ActBlue thousands of times a year. However, according to recent investigative reports, many of these individuals had no idea that their names and addresses were being used to give thousands of dollars in political donations, with most of these ‘donations’ going to ActBlue,” stated Rubio.

He would go on to mention that this comes as “no surprise.”

“It should come as no surprise that ActBlue serves as vessel for fraud, considering the intentional lack of security engrained within their donation processes and systems.”

Further on in the letter, Rubio calls the organization out as a “facilitator of fraud.”

“In knowing that foreign actors use fake accounts to exploit donation systems that do not have robust verification processes and systems in place, most individual campaigns and political action committees (PACs) require CVV numbers as part of making an online donation. However, in breaking with most organizations, ActBlue does not require CVV numbers as a requirement for donating, and thus lending itself as a facilitator of fraud.”

In February, the Florida Senator re-introduced the Codification of Verified Values (CVV) Act, which looks to make it law to require a CVV code when donating to any form of political campaign.