One of Rand and Ron Paul’s closest political confidantes has been charged with conspiracy related to an alleged 2012 cash-for-endorsements scheme, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.
Jesse Benton, who served as Rand Paul’s campaign manager in 2010, is accused of funneling over $70,000 from Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign committee to Iowa State Sen. Kent Sorenson in exchange for Sorenson’s endorsement.
Ron Paul aides Dimitrios Kesari and John Tate—who runs the Paul-affiliated Campaign for Liberty—were also indicted in the alleged scheme.
According to the federal indictment, the aides attempted to conceal the payments, which were reportedly doled out in $8,000 monthly increments through intermediary companies:
Jesse R. Benton, 37, of Louisville, Kentucky; John M. Tate, 53, of Warrenton, Virginia; and Dimitrios N. Kesari, 49, of Leesburg, Virginia, are charged by indictment with conspiracy, causing false records to obstruct a contemplated investigation, causing the submission of false campaign expenditure reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and engaging in a scheme to make false statements to the FEC. Benton is additionally charged with making false statements to the FBI, and Kesari is also charged with obstruction of justice.
The payments to Sorenson were allegedly made in monthly installments of approximately $8,000 each and ultimately amounted to over $70,000. The indictment alleges that the defendants concealed the payments by causing them to be recorded – both in campaign accounting records and in FEC filings – as campaign-related audio-visual expenditures, and by causing them to be transmitted to a film production company and then to a second company that was controlled by Sorenson. According to the indictment, the conspirators concealed their campaign’s payments to Sorenson from their candidate and also from the FEC, the FBI and the public.
Benton and Tate are scheduled to appear at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa on Sept. 3, according to the DOJ press release. Kesari appeared Wednesday.