Republican Says ‘Cyber-Criminal’ Stole Nearly $700,000 From Senate Campaign

A Senate campaign is reeling after nearly $700,000 was stolen by cybercriminals.

According to an election filing reported by The Daily Wire, $690,000 was reported stolen from Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran’s campaign accounts.

Moran’s campaign treasurer, Timothy Gottschalk, wrote in a Federal Election Commission filing on December 8, 2022 that money had been taken from the campaign by a “third party cyber criminal.”

“On November 14, 2022, our office was contacted by Astra Bank to notify us of potentially fraudulent activity concerning recent wire transfers to SRCP Media, Inc. After communications with staff, it was determined that two wires were sent for payment of fraudulent invoices. One wire was sent on October 25, 2022, for $345,000.00, and a second wire on November 9, 2022, for $345,000.00. For a total of $690,000.00,” Gottschalk wrote in the filing, first reported by Raw Story.

According to Moran’s office, they reported the incident to the Republic County Sheriff’s Office on November 16, before the investigation was turned over to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.

“Cybercriminals targeted the accounting firm employed by Moran For Kansas and money was wired to fraudulent bank accounts,” said Tom Brandt, a spokesman for Moran. “As soon as a discrepancy was realized, it was reported to law enforcement.”

Gottschalk said that $168,184.03 had been recovered on November 23. “We are currently pursuing all avenues available to recover the money and there is an ongoing investigation with the FBI,” Brandt added. 

Moran was elected to the Senate in 2010 and is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the Appropriations Committee. He is also the ranking member on the Veterans Affairs Committee.