Senior Maryland Lawmaker Resigns, Faces Wire Fraud Charge

A senior member of the House of Delegates who resigned abruptly Friday faces a federal corruption charge for allegedly pocketing more than $22,000 in campaign contributions.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland announced Monday afternoon that Del. Tawanna P. Gaines (D-Prince George’s), the vice chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee and newly installed chairwoman of its powerful Capital Budget Committee, faces one wire fraud charge for siphoning at least $22,000 from her campaign fund over a three-year period, from January 2015 to April 2018.

The charging document from U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur alleges that the 18-year lawmaker operated a PayPal account for her campaign committee that only she knew about, enabling her to pocket contributions that were made to her committee through that payment method. Gaines did not disclose the existence of the PayPal account or its transactions on state campaign finance forms, the complaint alleges.

Maryland election law states that only a campaign treasurer can collect and disburse a candidate’s campaign funds.

Read more: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2019/10/07/senior-md-lawmaker-resigns-faces-wire-fraud-charge/