A cybercriminal took hundreds of thousands of dollars from Sen. Jerry Moran’s campaign coffers last year, according to a form filed with the Federal Election Commission by the Kansas Republican’s campaign.
In the fillingThe Moran For Kansas treasurer said post-election reports revealed the senator’s campaign fell victim to an «external cybercriminal» that included a couple of fraudulent transactions.
A transfer for the payment of $345,000 in fraudulent invoices was sent on October 25, and a second transfer for the same amount was sent on November 9, Treasurer Timothy E. Gottschalk told the FEC on December 8.
“The cybercriminals targeted the accounting firm employed by Moran For Kansas and the money was transferred to fraudulent bank accounts,” Moran for Kansas spokesman Tom Brandt told NBC News. “As soon as a discrepancy was noticed, the police were informed. We are currently pursuing all available avenues to recover the money and there is an ongoing investigation with the FBI. The campaign also consulted with the FEC on how to transparently report unauthorized spending.»
The campaign told the FEC in the December filing that $168,184 of the lost funds had been recovered.
No additional details were immediately available and Brandt declined to comment further, citing an ongoing investigation with the FBI.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Moran is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, where he sits on a subcommittee focused on financial institutions and consumer protection. She also sits on a Senate Commerce subcommittee that deals with data security, along with other committees.
Moran was first elected to the Senate in 2010. He won a third term in November with 60% of the vote.