Scam duped donors trying to support Trump, DeSantis and other GOP campaigns, feds say
A man stole nearly half a million dollars from donors who were trying to support the campaigns of Republican presidential primary candidates, including Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, court documents show.
Jason Pallante, of Orlando, Florida, ran dozens of political fundraising websites that looked legitimate — but weren’t actually affiliated with the candidates that the sites claimed to support, according to the Justice Department.
The scam included 28 websites appearing to support Trump, the now-president elect; 27 for DeSantis; 14 for Haley; 10 for Vivek Ramaswamy; nine for former vice president Mike Pence; and seven for Sen. Tim Scott, according to an indictment filed Dec. 10.
Pallante deceptively designed these websites to dupe donors by using photos of the candidates, first person language and the same fonts seen in the candidates’ campaigns, according to prosecutors.
One of Pallante’s sites for Trump, trumpdonations.com, tried to lure potential donors with phrases: “Join My Movement” and “Support Me Now,” the indictment says.
FBI agents arrested Pallante, 52, on Dec. 11 on three counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a news release.
Information regarding Pallante’s legal representation wasn’t listed in court records the morning of Dec. 12.
The money people donated went to America Great PAC, a purported Super PAC Pallante created that had a Washington, D.C. address, prosecutors said. He registered it with the Federal Election Commission in May 2019, according to the indictment.
Some donors, believing they were supporting their preferred GOP candidates, contributed money through Pallante’s websites while others mailed checks, prosecutors said.
Pallante stole the checks, which were addressed to presidential candidates or their campaigns, according to prosecutors.
He paid himself more than $162,000 in 2023 and $334,000 in 2024, prosecutors said.
Donor demands a refund
In the indictment, prosecutors wrote “after the Republican presidential primary field narrowed to only Trump and Haley on January 21, 2024, Pallante continued operating websites supporting each of these two remaining candidates.”
One donor, who contributed $50 on Pallante’s site, nikkihaleydonation.com, asked for a refund in an email a few days later on Feb. 26, the indictment says.
The donor was “concerned the money may be used for candidates other than Haley,” according to the indictment.
In another email sent March 14, the donor wrote that they “felt defrauded” and asked for a refund again, the indictment shows.
Pallante emailed the donor in response and told them they couldn’t get a refund because the “funds (were) (sic) already used for the candidate Nikki Haley,” according to the indictment.
The donor was refunded after they threatened to report Pallante to the Federal Election Commission, the indictment says.
Pallante used donors’ money, all of which went to America Great PAC’s bank account, to continue his scheme and for personal expenses, according to the indictment.
“Campaign finance scams — like the one alleged here — harm victims twice over, stealing their money and preventing them from using that money to support the causes and candidates of their choice,” U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said in the release.
This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 9:32 AM with the headline "Scam duped donors trying to support Trump, DeSantis and other GOP campaigns, feds say."
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