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      Misappropriated funds

Misappropriated funds While the misappropriation of committee funds is not common, the Commission has encountered a number of cases where political committee staff misappropriated funds. In addition to the difficulties committees face in discovering that funds are missing, misappropriations are often accompanied by the filing of inaccurate disclosure reports with the FEC, leaving committees vulnerable to FEC enforcement action and potential liability for those reporting errors. Safe harbor To help protect committees, the FEC created a safe harbor for political committees that have certain internal controls in place to prevent misappropriations and associated misreporting. Under this provision, if these internal controls are in place at the time of a misappropriation, and the committee follows the post-discovery steps described on this page, the FEC will not seek a civil penalty against the political committee for filing incorrect reports due to the misappropriation of committee funds. Minimum internal controls required for the safe harbor In order to avail itself of the safe harbor, a political committee must implement these minimum internal controls: All bank accounts must be opened in the name of the committee using the committee’s Employer Identification Number. Bank accounts should never be opened in the name of an individual using an individual’s Social Security Number.Bank statements must be reviewed for unauthorized transactions and reconciled with the accounting records each month. Further, bank records must be reconciled with disclosure reports prior to filing. The reconciliations must be done by someone other than a check signer or an individual responsible for handling the committee’s accounting.Checks in excess of $1,000 must be authorized in writing and/or signed by two individuals. Further, all wire transfers must be authorized in writing by two individuals. The individuals who authorize disbursements or sign checks should be identified in writing in the committee’s internal policies.An individual who does not handle the committee’s accounting or have banking authority receives incoming checks and monitors all other incoming receipts. This individual makes a list of all committee receipts and places a restrictive endorsement, such as For Deposit Only to the Account of the Payee, on all checks.The committee must use an imprest system for petty cash funds, and the value of the petty cash fund should be no more than $500. An imprest system is one in which the sum of the disbursements recorded in the petty cash log since the last replenishment and the remaining cash always equals the stated amount of the fund. When the fund is replenished, the amount of the replenishment equals the amounts recorded since the prior replenishment and should bring the cash balance back to the stated amount. Only one person should be in charge of the fund. If misappropriation is discovered As soon as a misappropriation is discovered, the political committee must notify law enforcement. The committee also must notify the FEC and file amended reports to correct any reporting errors due to the misappropriation. If a committee discovers a misappropriation or embezzlement of committee funds, the Campaign Finance Analyst assigned to the committee can help work through the resulting disclosure challenges. Committees may also want to consult with legal counsel to see whether filing a sua sponte submission or complaint may be appropriate. Committees that would like to discuss a sua sponte submission with the FEC may contact the Office of General Counsel. Regardless, committees should do their best to file accurate and complete reports by the established deadlines. As part of those reports, the FEC encourages committees to file Miscellaneous Documents (Form 99) to provide as much detail as possible concerning the embezzlement, including whether the reported cash on hand (COH) balance accurately reflects the actual bank balance. If a committee’s reported COH balance is inaccurate, it should make a one-time cash adjustment on their next report to reflect the actual balance. There are two ways to do so: Adjust the beginning COH balance of the report manually, with memo text referencing the earlier Miscellaneous Documents (Form 99), orMake a one-time COH adjustment entry on Schedule B (Line 21/Form 3; Line 29/Form 3X; Line 29/Form 3P) with the purpose: “Cash on hand adjustment due to unauthorized disbursements.” Amend reports filed earlier in the current election cycle to correct any errors or omissions. For prior election cycles, committees may file a single Miscellaneous Document (Form 99) that lists the detailed transactions that make up the discrepancy (when available) and/or notes any unexplained discrepancies and estimated timeframes. Other recommended controls to prevent misappropriation of funds and filing inaccurate reports As the amount of money raised and spent on federal elections has increased, so has the incidence of misappropriation and embezzlement of political committees' funds. Though not required, implementing the internal controls outlined by the Commission may help committees not only prevent embezzlement or misappropriation, but also potentially avoid a civil penalty for filing incorrect reports due to fraud. The Commission recommends that political committees implement additional internal controls to help prevent misappropriation of funds and the filing of inaccurate disclosure reports, including the following: Limiting the number of people authorized to sign checks. In addition, checks in excess of a certain dollar amount should require the signature of two responsible individuals. The recommended threshold is $1,000. Facsimile signatures should be prohibited unless controlled by a check-signing machine with a numerical sequence counter. No signature stamps should be allowed.Carefully controlling committee debit and credit cards since they represent easy access to committee assets. Ask the committee’s bank or credit card issuer about placing dollar restrictions and prohibitions on withdrawals.Recording receipts as mail is opened. A responsible official should periodically compare the list with the recorded amount for the deposit and the amount on the bank statement. Consider using a lockbox service to process receipts.Mailing checks promptly and directly to the payees. The person mailing the check should be independent of those requesting, writing and signing it. Also, require that the person taking control of the checks sign for them.Implementing a daily back-up system for the committee’s electronic data to avoid a loss of data that can interfere with the committee’s ability to file timely and accurate disclosure reports.
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          Recording receiptsRecording disbursementsRecording debts and loans From the FEC Record Safe harbor for embezzlement misreporting
Best practices for committee management
 Need help? Get help from the FEC by phone or email
 Continue learning about this topic Best practices in internal controls and recordkeeping
 Internal controls and political committees
 Legal citations Advisory opinions AO 2006-16Misappropriated funds AO 2005-04Assignment and reporting restitution owed to committee AO 1995-10Ownership of committee records AO 1993-15Funds raised for legal expense related to Justice Department investigation AO 1991-13Repayment of embezzled funds to candidate committee AO 1989-10Candidate committee's financial situation after embezzlement by former treasurer
 Policies Safe harbor for misreporting due to embezzlement Self reporting of violations


This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public. The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.


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