2021-07-29 DOJ SDNY press_release 118 KB 4,676 chars

California Man Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Thousands Of Donors To Scam Political Action Committees By Impersonating U.S. Senate Candidates And Campaigns

Caption: United States v. John Pierre Dupont

summary

John Pierre Dupont, 82, pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for impersonating U.S. Senate campaigns and other political causes between 2015 and 2019 to defraud thousands of donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars, which he stole for personal use and used to fund further fraud.

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John Pierre Dupont, 82, of Blythe, California, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft for operating fake political action committees that impersonated U.S. Senate campaigns, a gubernatorial candidate, a presidential bid, and an immigrant family reunification effort. Between 2015 and 2019, he defrauded thousands of donors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through fraudulent websites, diverting all funds for personal enrichment while failing to report donations to the Federal Election Commission. He faces a maximum sentence of 22 years—20 years for wire fraud and a mandatory consecutive two years for identity theft—with sentencing scheduled for October 21, 2021.

narrative

John Pierre Dupont, 82, of Blythe, California, pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for orchestrating a years-long scheme from 2015 to 2019 that defrauded thousands of donors by impersonating legitimate U.S. Senate campaigns and other political causes through fake political action committees. He created fraudulent websites falsely claiming donations would support Senate candidates, a gubernatorial race, a presidential bid, and a nonprofit called the Foundation for Sanity in Politics PAC, which purported to help reunite immigrant families but had no staff, volunteers, or actual programs. All funds raised—amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars—were diverted to Dupont for personal use, including to sustain his fraudulent operations through advertising and overhead, with none ever going to the purported causes. Dupont failed to file required disclosures with the Federal Election Commission, violating campaign finance laws. The scheme targeted victims nationwide, exploiting their trust in political and humanitarian causes. Dupont admitted to the fraud in court and faces a maximum sentence of 22 years: 20 years for wire fraud and a mandatory consecutive two years for aggravated identity theft. Sentencing is scheduled for October 21, 2021, before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.

Enriched metadata

Scheme: affinity-fraud (95%)
Court: Southern District of New York
Outcome: pleaded

Classified affinity-fraud(confidence 95%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D· recall 58% / precision 2%. detection rule →

Extracted insights

Entities 9

scheme_term 20 years in prison for wire fraud
person aggravated identity theft
person audrey strauss
person guilty plea proceedings
person john gary rinaldo
person john pierre dupont
person judge richard m. berman
person scam political action committees
scheme_term wire fraud

Triples 14

John Pierre Dupont pleaded guilty to Wire Fraud
John Pierre Dupont pleaded guilty to Aggravated Identity Theft
John Pierre Dupont defrauded Thousands Of Donors
John Pierre Dupont impersonated U.S. Senate Candidates And Campaigns
John Pierre Dupont operated Scam Political Action Committees
John Pierre Dupont stole Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars
John Pierre Dupont defrauded donors from 2015 Through 2019
John Pierre Dupont faces maximum sentence of 20 Years In Prison For Wire Fraud
John Pierre Dupont faces mandatory sentence of 2 Years In Prison For Aggravated Identity Theft
Audrey Strauss announced Guilty Plea Of John Pierre Dupont
Judge Richard M. Berman presided over Guilty Plea Proceedings
John Pierre Dupont is from Blythe, California
John Pierre Dupont is also known as John Gary Rinaldo
Sentencing scheduled for October 21, 2021

View original DOJ press releasejustice.gov

Extracted body text (4,676c)

Press Release California Man Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Thousands Of Donors To Scam Political Action Committees By Impersonating U.S. Senate Candidates And Campaigns Thursday, July 29, 2021 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the guilty plea today of JOHN PIERRE DUPONT, a/k/a “John Gary Rinaldo,” in connection with a years-long scheme to defraud thousands of donors to scam political action committees that impersonated numerous U.S. Senate campaigns and candidates. DUPONT pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman. U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “In impersonating campaigns and candidates to raise money for fake political action committees, John Pierre Dupont took advantage of thousands of vulnerable individual donors who believed they were contributing to causes they believed in. Instead, hundreds of thousands of dollars that were intended to be legitimate donations were instead stolen by the defendant for his own personal enrichment. With today’s guilty plea, Dupont has admitted to his scheme and now faces a significant term of incarceration.” According to the allegations in the Indictment, court filings, and statements made during court proceedings: From 2015 through 2019, DUPONT defrauded thousands of donors who believed they were donating to three political action committees established by DUPONT (the “Scam PACs”), or to campaigns the Scam PACs falsely claimed to support. DUPONT’s scheme resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars being donated through websites he controlled and operated, none of which was donated to campaigns or causes. The websites purported to be raising money in support of senate campaigns and candidates, a candidate for governor, and a candidate for president. Another website operated by DUPONT purported to be raising money “to unite immigrant families,” falsely claiming that donations to the Foundation for Sanity in Politics PAC would “go to help pay our volunteer attorneys’, doctors’, nurses’ and social workers’ costs and pay for transportation to unite immigrant families.” In fact, that PAC had no volunteers or staff, and dedicated no funds to paying for any action or advocacy. DUPONT’s scheme targeted victims throughout the country, raising funds based on fraudulent representations that the donations would support the relevant causes, candidates, and campaigns. In reality, all of the money raised was kept and used by DUPONT, including to continue perpetrating the fraud through additional fundraising and overhead expenditures. None of the money donated to the Scam PACs was spent on political contributions, and DUPONT failed to report the donations, as required, in filings with the Federal Election Commission. * * * DUPONT, 82, of Blythe, Ca, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory two years in prison consecutive to any other sentence imposed. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the judge. Sentencing before Judge Berman is scheduled for October 21, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. If you think you are a victim of the scheme alleged in this press release, please contact Wendy Olsen, Victim & Witness Services for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, at 866-874-8900. This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Rossmiller is in charge of the prosecution. Contact James Margolin, Nicholas Biase Updated July 29, 2021 Topic Financial Fraud Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 21-200

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