MI-03: Meijer family accused of ties to 'straw donor' scheme; paperwork issue blamed
A nonpartisan watchdog is asking federal officials to investigate a Grand Rapids entity it claims was created to funnel money to a Republican political group working to help elect GOP candidate Peter Meijer to Congress.
The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint Friday with the Federal Election Commission saying the newly created company called Montcalm LLC appears to be a shell corporation used as part of a "straw donor" arrangement to hide the true donor and evade contribution limits.
A spokesman for Meijer's campaign said Friday that "this has nothing to do with Peter Meijer."
Separately, a spokesman for the Meijer family attributed the problem to a paperwork issue that's since been corrected.
A "straw" donor is one who uses another's name to make political contributions in an effort to evade reporting requirements — which is illegal under federal campaign finance law.
Government records show Montcalm was formed in late September and gave $150,000 to the GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund two weeks later.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/10/24/meijer-family-accused-ties-straw-donor-scheme-paperwork-blamed/3733858001/