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Michelle Bond is charged with conspiring to cause unlawful campaign contributions in connection with her failed congressional bid in 2022, according to an indictment unsealed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday, Aug. 22.
Bond ran as a Republican for the 1st District seat, representing eastern Long Island in Suffolk County. She ultimately lost the nomination to current Rep. Nick LaLota.
According to federal prosecutors, shortly after launching her congressional bid in May 2022, Bond inked a $400,000 “consulting” agreement with the subsidiary of a now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange based in the Bahamas.
Her boyfriend was a high-level executive at the company.
In reality, the pair's agreement was actually a sham and Bond used the funds to pay her campaign expenses, prosecutors said.
Her boyfriend, an unindicted co-conspirator in the case, was aware that she was using his money to make large loans and contributions to her campaign, investigators said.
The indictment goes on to accuse Bond of trying to cover up the conduct by lying on a financial disclosure form filed with the House Ethics Committee, as well as the Federal Election Commission.
She later acknowledged that she did not work for the exchange in talking points prepared for a meeting with the board of her trade group, prosecutors said.
“As alleged, Michelle Bond and her co-conspirator romantic partner attempted to fund her campaign for the US House of Representatives by illegally using hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate coffers, among other sources, and then lying to Congress and others to cover it all up,” said US Attorney Damian Williams.
“Misconduct by those campaigning for public office undermines public trust in American elections and in representative government more broadly.”
The 45-year-old Bond, who now resides in Potomac, Maryland, is charged with the following:
- Conspiracy to cause unlawful campaign contributions
- Causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions
- Causing and receiving an unlawful corporate contribution
- Causing and receiving a conduit contribution
If convicted, each crime carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
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