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A Milwaukee alderman running for a seat in the US Senate has been accused of embezzling $ 20,000 in campaign funds. Charges against Chantia Lewis were filed in Milwaukee County Court Tuesday. The 41-year-old Democrat has been charged with four crimes. They included misconduct in the performance of public office, embezzlement of funds over $ 10,000, intentional acceptance of an illegal campaign fundraiser, and intentional filing of a false fundraising report. campaign. If found guilty, she faces at least 20 years in prison. Lewis announced that she was among Republican Senator Ron Johnson’s dozen or so contenders in the 2022 election. 43-page criminal complaint alleges she defrauded the city of Milwaukee and its 21,666.70 campaign $. A civil servant and candidate for public office, Lewis filed false campaign finance reports, in which she provided inaccurate information regarding her campaign account balances, contributions and disbursements, âthe complaint states. “She embezzled funds belonging to her campaign by depositing campaign contributions into her personal bank accounts, as well as using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses.” using campaign funds. Lewis was first elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. The complaint also said she poorly structured a campaign contribution to avoid limit requirements. The district attorney’s office said the charges were discovered during a review of campaign finance reports and reimbursements for city travel by aldermen. The trip included visits to Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Houston, Washington, DC, Little Rock, Minneapolis and Miami. bank account and would use campaign funds for personal expenses, âthe complaint says. “She transferred funds directly from her campaign account to her personal account, then spent the money on personal items. She paid her personal expenses directly from donations into her campaign fundraising account.” complaint said. The complaint said Lewis made some payments to his campaign account, but that did not justify the embezzlement. Lewis made no immediate comment on the charges. His lawyer, Jason Luczak, said Lewis would seek to have the charges dismissed. He said prosecutors cannot establish any criminal intent and that account statements not mentioned in the complaint would show Lewis had no intention of stealing money or committing a crime. “Obviously this is a one-sided document that is prepared by the district attorney’s office. He added that Lewis had cooperated with the investigation and that the payments were accounting errors.” She is not going to resign, she has no intention of leaving the Senate race, âLuczak said. “She will stay and fight for the community like she did.” A first court appearance was scheduled for September 29.
A Milwaukee alderman running for a seat in the US Senate has been accused of embezzling $ 20,000 in campaign funds.
Charges against Chantia Lewis were filed in Milwaukee County Court Tuesday.
The 41-year-old Democrat has been charged with four crimes.
They included misconduct in the performance of public office, embezzlement of funds over $ 10,000, intentional acceptance of an illegal campaign fundraiser, and intentional filing of a false fundraising report. campaign.
If found guilty, she faces at least 20 years in prison.
Lewis has announced that she is one of a dozen candidates running for Republican Senator Ron Johnson’s seat in the 2022 election.
A 43-page criminal complaint alleges that she defrauded the city of Milwaukee and its campaign of $ 21,666.70.
“In her role as a public official and candidate for public office, Lewis filed false campaign finance reports, in which she provided inaccurate information regarding her campaign account balances and her contributions and disbursements,” indicates the complaint. “She embezzled funds belonging to her campaign by depositing campaign contributions into her personal bank accounts, as well as using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses.”
The allegations include falsely claiming that Lewis had to reimburse travel expenses in town when she paid for travel using campaign funds.
Lewis was first elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.
The complaint also said it poorly structured a campaign contribution to avoid limit requirements.
The district attorney’s office said the charges were discovered during a review of campaign fundraising reports and reimbursements for city aldermen travel.
The trip included visits to Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Houston, Washington, DC, Little Rock, Minneapolis and Miami.
“A review also showed Lewis would mix her personal and campaign accounts; she would deposit campaign donations into her personal bank account and use campaign funds for personal expenses,” the complaint states. “She transferred funds directly from her campaign account to her personal account, then spent the money on personal items. She paid her personal expenses directly from donations into her campaign fundraising account.”
She also spent $ 4,884 in campaign funds to pay rent for apartments, according to the complaint.
The complaint said Lewis made payments to his campaign account, but that did not justify the embezzlement.
Lewis made no immediate comment on the charges.
His lawyer, Jason Luczak, said Lewis would seek to have the charges dismissed.
He said prosecutors could not establish any criminal intent and that account statements not mentioned in the complaint would show Lewis had no intention of stealing money or committing a crime.
âThe criminal complaint basically only gives half the picture of finances,â Luczak said. “Obviously, this is a one-sided document that is prepared by the district attorney’s office.”
He added that Lewis had cooperated with the investigation and that the payments were accounting errors.
“She is not going to resign, she has no intention of retiring from the Senate race,” Luczak said. “She will stay and fight for the community like she did.”
A first court appearance was scheduled for September 29.
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