Jeremy Durham spent campaign funds on suits, sunglasses and spa products
Jeremy Durham spent campaign funds on suits, sunglasses and spa products:- Ex-lawmaker Jeremy Durham violated state campaign finance law possibly as many as 500 times, including spending more than $10,000 of campaign funds illegally to buy an airplane ticket for his wife, custom suits, spa products and sunglasses, according to a state campaign finance audit released Wednesday.
He also used campaign money for more mundane bills, including lawn care and paint for his home office, the audit shows.
Durham made at least 55 illegal purchases using money given by donors; the state report outlines 39 expenses, but some include multiple purchases. The former Franklin lawmaker also used campaign funds to invest more than $100,000 in the company of a wealthy GOP donor, loan nearly $30,000 to a professional gambler who has a criminal past and loan $25,000 to his wife, auditors found.
Durham paid himself $7,702 from his campaign account for expenses he’d already been reimbursed for by the state, according to the audit. The practice is more commonly known as double-dipping.
"At the same time Mr. Durham was receiving per diem reimbursements he was also charging meals and such expenses as travel expenses to his campaign account on the same day," said Drew Rawlins, executive director of the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance.
Public records not affiliated with the state’s investigation into Durham’s campaign finances show he received more than $44,000 in per diem reimbursements from 2012 to 2016.
The audit could be used by state or federal law enforcement to bolster investigations into possible additional wrongdoing by Durham.
Peter Strianse, a criminal defense attorney representing Durham, said his client had not been given adequate due process before the release of the report.
Overall, the 38-page audit from the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance outlines 12 main findings related to Durham’s campaign finances. Those include:
Receiving $5,500 in contributions above the legal limit from multiple donors;
Not reporting $36,335 in donations and $10,624 in interest earned on investments;
Not disclosing the names of several contributors;
Not retaining sufficient records of expenses.
Source:- http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/08/jeremy-durham-spent-campaign-funds-suits-sunglasses-and-spa-products/97570094/
