Wisconsin GOP details aftermath of $2.3 million theft

The Republican Party of Wisconsin has vowed to not get fooled again — at least not like it did in October 2020, according to a letter the party committee sent the Federal Election Commission on Friday night.

After initially losing more than $2.3 million to hackers just days before Election Day 2020, the Republican Party of Wisconsin told the FEC that it's taken "concrete steps" to better defend against fraud after falling victim to one of the nation's largest cybertheft incidents that targeted a political committee.

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The Republican Party of Wisconsin "has revised its internal controls and compliance procedures to better defend against modern cybersecurity threats such as hacking," the committee wrote the FEC in an unsigned letter sent in response to questions from federal regulators. "For example, the RPW’s Controller now calls the recipient of each wire transfer to confirm the wiring instructions immediately prior to each wire transfer. The Controller also confirms with the recipient that they have received the funds. These concrete steps help safeguard against fraud due to altered or fraudulent invoices. In addition, the RPW requires staff to participate in cybersecurity training to keep them apprised of best practice and the latest phishing schemes."

In its letter to the FEC, the Republican Party of Wisconsin also offered new details about the incident itself: "In October of 2020, unknown individuals not affiliated with the RPW hacked the email accounts of RPW staff who had roles in the expense and payment approval process. With access to RPW staff email accounts, the hackers were able to intercept legitimate invoices, change the payment information, and email the altered, fraudulent invoices to colleagues for payment. Over the course of approximately one week (October 12-20, 2020), the hackers misappropriated a total of $2,348,963.05 from the RPW’s federal account."

The Republican Party of Wisconsin added: "The RPW completed an internal investigation and confirmed that no other fraudulent activity occurred beyond the transactions identified above. The FBI’s investigation also confirmed that outsiders perpetrated the hacking and fraud."

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An email and voicemail left by Raw Story for the committee were not immediately returned.

The hackers had stolen the money from an account the Republican Party of Wisconsin was using to help try to reelect President Donald Trump, with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel previously reported.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel further noted that the Republican Party of Wisconsin's then-chairman, Andrew Hitt, explained in late 2020 that "hackers manipulated invoices from four vendors who were being paid for direct mail for Trump’s reelection efforts as well as for pro-Trump material such as hats to be handed out to supporters. Invoices and other documents were altered so when the party paid them, the money went to the hackers instead of the vendors."

Following an FBI investigation, the Wisconsin GOP recouped all of the lost money by mid-2022.

But that was long after the 2020 election, when Trump lost Wisconsin to now-President Joe Biden by less than one percentage point — fewer than 21,000 votes.

Thieves striking numerous politicians

During the past year, Raw Story has identified numerous federal politicians and political committees that have experienced thefts — large and small — from their campaign accounts.

Republicans and Democrats alike have been targeted. Some have recouped some or all of their lost money while others have not.

Among the most notable incidents of late:

• Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) was the victim of a cybertheft incident in late 2022 that initially cost his campaign $690,000.
• Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) lost $157,626 from his campaign.
• The Retired Americans PAC, a super PAC that supports Democrats, lost $150,000.
• The Managed Funds Association PAC lost $147,000.
• President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign committee lost $70,000.
• Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) saw his campaign committee lose $40,000 earlier this year because of a stolen check.
• The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump super PAC, lost $35,000 earlier this year.

Other high-profile politicians to lose smaller amounts from thefts of their campaign accounts include Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

In November, check fraud caused the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's political action committee to lose nearly $4,700.