New Millennium PAC, a leadership committee controlled by US Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), looks like it illegally funneled $5,000 to the Garden State Democrat’s campaign fund using freshman U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, of Florida, to launder the dirty money.

Another New Jersey Democrat, Lisa McCormick — a progressive who scored 158,335 votes against Menendez in the June 5 primary in a unique people-powered campaign that shunned money — is asking the Federal Election Commission and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida to investigate and prosecute these apparent crimes.

McCormick said the alleged crimes took place while Menendez was still under a federal indictment issued by the Obama administration for bribery and corruption related to a Florida eye doctor who was separately convicted in the biggest Medicare fraud case in US history.

“Congressman Darren Soto of Orlando, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and politicians like them take bribes and break the law while ignoring the serious, life-threatening problems that plague our society,” said McCormick. “Soto, Menendez and their ilk created the conditions that made Democrats look so bad, someone like Donald Trump was able to win the Republican nomination and become president. With stunts like this, Darren Soto is giving Donald Trump a chance at a second term.”

“The Sunshine State has been a fruitful supplier of Menendez collaborators, including Soto and the Seantor’s co-defendant Dr. Salomon Melgen, who received a prison sentence of 17 years for stealing $73 million in the largest Medicare fraud case in history,” said McCormick.

“Unless I mistaken, the date coincides with the day former Perth Amboy Mayor and state Assemblyman Joseph Vas was released from prison, after serving time for very similar offenses,” said McCormick. “The father of California Congressman Ami Bera was sentenced to jail time last year for organizing a straw donor scheme to fund his son’s congressional runs in 2010 and 2012. Prosecutors found Babulal Bera solicited donations from family and friends, but then reimbursed these donations, which is illegal.”

“This appears to be a corrupt ploy for Senator Menendez to move money from his leadership PAC account to his principal campaign account,” said McCormick. “It appears that the scheme is going another round, since March 30, 2018, according to FEC filings, New Millennium PAC gave Congressman Darren Soto’s campaign committee $4,000. I believe that Congressman Soto will once again return that same amount to the Menendez campaign unless this disclosure prevents that but suspect that correspondence among Menendez, Soto and their political aides will provide evidence of this continuing conspiracy.”

SOURCES:

https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/H6FL09179/

https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00349233/

https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00264564/

http://lisamccormick.org/assets/MenendezMoneyLaundering.pdf