The Democratic National Committee recorded a loss of nearly $29,000 in early 2025 due to an email scam in which an unknown individual posed as committee Chairman Ken Martin. According to interviews with committee officials and federal records, the incident occurred in February 2025, days after Martin assumed the role of chair on February 1.
An unknown party sent a fraudulent email to a DNC staffer impersonating Martin. The staffer, who is no longer employed by the committee, authorized a payment to the individual based on the request.
Federal Election Commission records list the disbursement at $28,860.92, described in filings as a “Misdisbursement—seeking return of funds,” according to a report from NOTUS.
Committee staff identified the issue within minutes of the transaction and immediately notified the DNC’s financial institution, Wells Fargo. Of the total amount transferred, $7,000 was recovered, and the matter was referred to law enforcement.
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In an August 2025 letter responding to a July 8, 2025 inquiry from FEC Senior Campaign Finance and Reviewing Analyst Jack Baisden to DNC treasurer Virginia McGregor, the committee addressed the transaction. “The identified transaction was the result of fraudulent activity by an external third party. The Committee has no reason to believe that the transaction involved any misappropriation or misconduct by Committee personnel. Committee staff discovered the issue quickly and promptly notified its bank in order to recover the misdisbursed funds,” the DNC said.
“The Committee maintains an internal controls policy consistent with the Federal Election Commission’s safe harbor policy, and the Committee is taking further steps to avoid similar events in the future.”
Officials have described the sum as a small portion of the funds the committee typically handles over an election cycle. No further details have been released regarding the identity of the individual who sent the email or the specific content of the request beyond its fraudulent nature and the resulting payment.
“The DNC takes seriously our duty to protect the funds provided to us by millions of patriotic Americans chipping in to fund our mission. This was a one-off mistake that was promptly caught and addressed, and no similar issues have occurred since,” DNC spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said in a separate statement.
The loss occurred as the DNC continues to struggle with a number of financial issues. As of June 30, FEC records showed the committee with approximately $16.3 million in cash on hand and about $18.5 million in debt.
In order to alleviate costs, the DNC obtained a $15 million line of credit and put its Washington, D.C., headquarters, located in Southeast Washington and partially owned by the committee, up as collateral for the loan, according to D.C. deed records. “This is not new. The loan documents were publicly released in November, and the DNC’s building was also used as collateral in our prior lines of credit in 2019, 2018, 2014, and many other years,” a DNC official said in reference to the loan agreement.
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