FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Louisiana Businessman Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements to the Federal Election Commission
The president of a Louisiana towing company pleaded guilty today to using his personal and business accounts to fund campaign contribution checks in the names of others in support of two candidates for the U.S. Senate, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Dana Boente announced.
Arlen "Benny" Cenac Jr., 57, a resident of Houma, La., and the president and owner of Cenac Towing, pleaded guilty today to making false statements to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC). He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 5, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier.
"Today’s plea marks the second campaign finance conviction in a week and is one of many such cases brought throughout the nation," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman. "Mr. Cenac’s crime undermined the cornerstones of campaign finance laws, and his conviction demonstrates our resolve to hold accountable anyone who corrupts our electoral process."
"Mr. Cenac, in an effort to increase his political contributions, structured his financial transactions and created false documents," said U.S. Attorney Boente. "This prosecution should serve as a warning to people who attempt to hide their identity and make contributions in excess of legal limits."
According to the plea documents, Cenac obtained cashier’s checks using his personal and corporate funds in names of individuals other than himself, including people he knew professionally, personally, or through family relations. Cenac neither sought nor obtained the permission of the individuals he listed as remitters on the cashier’s checks. He then submitted the checks as campaign contributions to the campaigns of two U.S. Senate candidates, causing the campaigns to submit materially false information regarding the source and the amount of the contributions to the FEC.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s New Orleans Division. Trial Attorney Tracee Plowell of the Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Friel of the Eastern District of Louisiana are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Showing posts with label FEC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FEC. Show all posts
Friday, June 14, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
CONGRESIONAL CANDIDATE PLEADS GUILTY TO VIOLATING FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
Friday, March 15, 2013
Congressional Candidate Pleads Guilty to Violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act
Former Congressional candidate Justin Lamar Sternad pleaded guilty today in Miami to violating the Federal Election Campaign Act during his 2012 campaign, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Wifredo A. Ferrer and Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.
Sternad, 35, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum in the Southern District of Florida. Sternad pleaded guilty to all counts of a criminal information that charged him with one count of conspiracy to make false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), one count of making false statements to the FEC and one count of accepting illegal campaign contributions.
Sternad was a candidate in the 2012 Democratic Party primary election for Florida’s 26th Congressional District. According to court documents, Sternad engaged in a conspiracy to accept illegal campaign contributions and file false statements with the FEC in order to conceal the true source, amount and nature of the funds used by his campaign.
Sternad admitted that his campaign accepted cash and checks in excess of Federal Election Campaign Act limits and that he filed statements that intentionally misled the FEC about his campaign’s activities. During the campaign, illegal cash contributions from co-conspirators were used to pay for a rental car and the design, printing and distribution of campaign flyers.
According to court documents, Sternad reported to the FEC that he made loans to his campaign in the amount of $63,801, when he knew that he had actually loaned fewer than $300. In total, Sternad accepted over $70,000 in misreported campaign contributions.
At sentencing, scheduled for May 31, 2013, Sternad faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Thomas J. Mulvihill of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Richard C. Pilger, Director of the Election Crimes Branch of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Congressional Candidate Pleads Guilty to Violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act
Former Congressional candidate Justin Lamar Sternad pleaded guilty today in Miami to violating the Federal Election Campaign Act during his 2012 campaign, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Wifredo A. Ferrer and Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.
Sternad, 35, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum in the Southern District of Florida. Sternad pleaded guilty to all counts of a criminal information that charged him with one count of conspiracy to make false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), one count of making false statements to the FEC and one count of accepting illegal campaign contributions.
Sternad was a candidate in the 2012 Democratic Party primary election for Florida’s 26th Congressional District. According to court documents, Sternad engaged in a conspiracy to accept illegal campaign contributions and file false statements with the FEC in order to conceal the true source, amount and nature of the funds used by his campaign.
Sternad admitted that his campaign accepted cash and checks in excess of Federal Election Campaign Act limits and that he filed statements that intentionally misled the FEC about his campaign’s activities. During the campaign, illegal cash contributions from co-conspirators were used to pay for a rental car and the design, printing and distribution of campaign flyers.
According to court documents, Sternad reported to the FEC that he made loans to his campaign in the amount of $63,801, when he knew that he had actually loaned fewer than $300. In total, Sternad accepted over $70,000 in misreported campaign contributions.
At sentencing, scheduled for May 31, 2013, Sternad faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Thomas J. Mulvihill of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Richard C. Pilger, Director of the Election Crimes Branch of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
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