Congressional Campaign Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Conspiring with Congressional Candidate in Campaign Finance Fraud Scheme

The former treasurer for a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives pleaded guilty today to conspiring with a congressional candidate to commit wire fraud, make materially false statements, obstruct the administration of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and commit aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, Nancy Marks, 58, of New York, was the treasurer for the principal congressional campaign committee of a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives during the 2022 election cycle in New York’s Third Congressional District. During this election cycle, Marks and the candidate devised and executed a fraudulent scheme to obtain money for the campaign by submitting materially false reports to the FEC on behalf of the campaign in which they inflated the campaign’s fundraising numbers for the purpose of misleading the FEC, a national party committee, and the public.

Specifically, the purpose of the scheme was to ensure that the candidate and his campaign qualified for a program that the national party committee administered, pursuant to which the national party committee would provide financial and logistical support to the candidate and his campaign committee. To qualify for the program, the candidate had to demonstrate, among other things, that his congressional campaign had raised at least $250,000 from third-party contributors in a single quarter.

To meet this financial benchmark and to further demonstrate to the national party committee that the congressional candidate’s campaign was financially viable, Marks and the candidate agreed to falsely report to the FEC that at least 10 family members of Marks and the candidate had made contributions to the campaign, when Marks and the candidate both knew that these individuals had not made the reported contributions. In addition, Marks and the candidate agreed to falsely report to the FEC that the congressional candidate had loaned the campaign significant sums of money, including in one instance a $500,000 loan, when, in fact, the congressional candidate had not made the reported loans and, at the time the loans were reported, did not have the funds necessary to make such loans.

Through the execution of this scheme, Marks and the candidate ensured that the candidate met the necessary financial benchmarks to qualify for the program that the national party committee administered. As a result of qualifying for the program, the congressional campaign received financial support.

Marks is scheduled to be sentenced on April 12, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York, and Assistant Director in Charge James Smith of the FBI New York Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case, with assistance from the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

Trial Attorneys Jacob Steiner and John Taddei of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Harris, Anthony Bagnuola, and Laura Zuckerwise for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Rachel Friedman. Former Trial Attorney Jolee Porter of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section provided substantial contributions to the prosecution.