A Wisconsin judge has approved a subpoena for documents in a lawsuit alleging nearly 400 instances of identity theft used to funnel fraudulent donations to Democratic campaigns through ActBlue.
The lawsuit, filed in October by the America First Policy Institute on behalf of Mark Block, accuses ActBlue of racketeering and identity theft. Block, a veteran Republican strategist, claims his personal information was used 385 times over five months to make donations to 62 political organizations and campaigns. Among these were 35 contributions to the Harris Victory Fund. The donations allegedly used a pseudonymous email and fake name linked to Block.
“While these fraudulent donations average out to a very small $3.24 per transaction, they conveniently fit into a loophole created by Federal Election Commission (FEC) reporting requirements,” the lawsuit states.
During a November 21 hearing, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad D. Schimel authorized a limited subpoena for documents to assess the extent of potential fraud. “Something is not right,” Schimel remarked, emphasizing that the plaintiff had provided sufficient evidence to justify further investigation.
The judge narrowed the scope of discovery, denying some requests related to ActBlue’s fraud safeguards but permitting inquiries into how the suspected fraudulent payments tied to Block’s information were processed.
ActBlue’s legal team argued that, as a nonparty, they were not obligated to release the requested documents. However, Judge Schimel disagreed, describing ActBlue as a “nonparty conduit for contributions” and noting the platform’s reluctance to share information. “Something isn’t right,” he reiterated, expressing concern over ActBlue’s resistance to cooperation.
This development could lead to broader investigations into the fundraising platform’s practices.
Read the full transcript here.
