In a significant development in the ongoing investigation led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the major Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue has agreed to enhance its security measures by requiring the inclusion of CVV codes for credit card donations.
This change comes after Paxton’s office issued a supplemental civil investigative demand in December 2023, following numerous allegations of fraud facilitated through the platform.
ActBlue, a prominent fundraising tool primarily used by Democratic candidates and organizations, has faced scrutiny for allegedly allowing donors to bypass critical security protocols.
One of the central issues in Paxton’s investigation is ActBlue’s previous failure to require donors to provide their Card Verification Value (CVV) codes when making credit card donations. The CVV code is a standard security feature designed to prevent unauthorized transactions and protect against fraud.
According to the press release:
Today, the OAG issued a supplemental civil investigative demand to obtain additional information relevant to the latest allegations regarding ActBlue.
“ActBlue has cooperated with our ongoing investigation. They have changed their requirements to now include ‘CVV’ codes for donations on their platform. This is a critical change that can help prevent fraudulent donations,” said Attorney General Paxton. “But it is most important that we enforce the law and protect the integrity of our elections. Certain features of campaign finance law may incentivize bad actors to use platforms like ActBlue to covertly move money to political campaigns to evade legal requirements. While campaign finance is protected by the First Amendment, suspicious activity on fundraising platforms must be fully investigated to determine if any laws have been broken.”
New: Texas’s Ongoing Investigation Into ActBlue Yields Cooperation On Donor Credit Card Identification
In December 2023, we opened an investigation into the major fundraising platform ActBlue to determine whether their operations are compliant with all applicable laws.… https://t.co/PaxCeUKD2v
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) August 8, 2024
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that the Attorneys General of Virginia and Missouri, along with the Secretary of State of Wyoming, have announced simultaneous investigations into ActBlue over allegations of a money laundering scheme.
The money laundering scheme was first released by Chris Gleason as was first published at The Gateway Pundit back in December 2022. Chris Gleason found a massive number of “Campaign Finance Mules” making hundreds, even thousands of donations per year.
These “Money Mules” were not wealthy individuals. They were average Americans, living in an average house in an average neighborhood. Or at least that is how it would appear.
Another massive pattern discovered was that these very active donors were all unemployed. It appeared that their full-time job was making donations to Democrat candidates and their campaigns.
Gleason asked “active” donors what they would think if he told them that he had identified voters who were making thousands of campaign donations in an election year. They all had the same response. “Anyone making that amount of donations is laundering money and is part of a criminal enterprise.”
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, and Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray are conducting their own investigations.
Attorney General Jason Miyares has launched an investigation into ActBlue, ActBlue Civics, Inc., and ActBlue Charities, Inc. (collectively “ActBlue”) following multiple serious allegations of fraudulent, deceptive, and illegal activities in Virginia.
The allegations involve hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from individual donors in Virginia, with volumes that appear facially implausible and suspicious. Some Virginia donors have been reported to make multiple daily contributions over several years, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars in aggregate.
Notably, many of these donors are senior citizens who list their occupation as “not employed” or “retired,” and have suspicious addresses. These circumstances suggest the possibility of contributions being made from fictional donors, dummy accounts, or without the reported donors’ consent or awareness.
“The citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia deserve to know that nonprofit and political entities are financed in a legal manner and that entities operating in Virginia are legitimately and legally raising funds,” Miyares stated.
To address these concerns, Miyares has requested a detailed description of ActBlue’s processes and procedures for verifying the legitimacy and accuracy of donor and contribution information, as well as the processes used for reporting information to regulatory bodies. Given the seriousness of the allegations, he expects a substantive response by August 12, 2024.
Breaking: I sent this letter to ActBlue demanding answers. The integrity of our election is at stake. pic.twitter.com/0gUhtmQlYY
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) August 2, 2024
In a related development, Attorney General Bailey has also expressed his office’s commitment to investigating the matter. “My team is looking into the disturbing allegations surrounding ActBlue. More to come,” Bailey wrote.
My team is looking into the disturbing allegations surrounding ActBlue.
More to come.
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) August 1, 2024
Secretary of State Chuck Gray has announced an investigation into ActBlue Wyoming, a political action committee registered with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office. ActBlue faces accusations of stealing individuals’ identities to conceal illegal donations, including contributions from foreign actors.
ActBlue Wyoming is required to file statements of contributions and expenditures with the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office under penalty of perjury. Filing a false statement constitutes a violation of the Wyoming Election Code. Secretary Gray has the legal authority to refer suspected violations of the Election Code to the appropriate prosecuting authority.
“The widespread allegations against ActBlue are deeply troubling, and we must ensure that political action committees are following the Wyoming Election Code,” Secretary Gray said in a statement. “Claiming that a person donated to a PAC if that person never donated to that PAC would be a felony under Wyoming law. I am very concerned and remain committed to a thorough review of contributions to ensure compliance with Wyoming law.”
I have announced an investigation into ActBlue. https://t.co/NsXUahMjTA
— Secretary Chuck Gray (@ChuckForWyoming) August 1, 2024
The post Texas AG Ken Paxton Forces ActBlue to Tighten Security Amidst Ongoing Fraud Investigation – Demands CVV Codes for All Credit Card Donations appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.