A Washington, D.C.- based lobbying firm will pay $125,000 to settle allegations the group had violated the Lobbying Disclosure Act on multiple occasions.
The Carmen Group, a nonpartisan government relations firm that represents both Democrats and Republicans, will pony up the six-figure settlement for their failure to disclose some of the groups’ political contributions as well as lobbying activity. The settlement is the largest civil penalty since the Lobbying Disclosure Act was first enforced in 1995.
The Washington Post reports:
Washington lobbying firm Carmen Group will pay a $125,000 fine to settle civil allegations that it repeatedly violated the Lobbying Disclosure Act by failing to disclose some of its lobbying activities and political contributions, prosecutors said.
The settlement was the second this year involving the lobbying act and the largest civil penalty obtained by federal prosecutors in Washington, whom Congress tasked with enforcing the 1995 law.
"The American public has a right to know about the efforts of paid lobbyists to influence legislative and executive decision-making," Acting U.S. Attorney of the District Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. said in a statement Friday.
"This settlement reflects our determination to seek significant penalties from repeat offenders who fail to meet their reporting obligations."
Carmen Group, founded in 1985, denied knowingly violating the law and has now complied fully, prosecutors said.
Richard Masterson, a spokesman for the Carmen Group, said the settlement concerned filings "made by a former employee."
"Management had no knowledge that administrative lapses had occurred and the company at no time violated the Lobbying Disclosure Act," he said in a statement. "The settlement amicably resolves the matter as the most efficient way to minimize cost."
The Carmen Group has spent $137 million on lobbying activities since 1998, making it the 16th-largest firm in terms of activity since that time.
The group currently employs 15 lobbyists and shows a lobbying income of slightly over $2 million at this point for 2015, according to information from the Center for Responsive Politics. Last year, the group spent over $5.8 million in lobbying-related activity.