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Bogus Donors Draw Scrutiny

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The New York Times

Published: October 10, 2008

Last December, somebody using the name "Test Person," from "Some Place, UT," made a series of contributions, the largest being $764, to Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign totaling $2,410.07.

Someone else identifying himself as "Jockim Alberton," from 1581 Leroy Ave. in Wilmington, Del., began giving to Obama last November, contributing $10 and $25 at a time for a total of $445 through the end of February.

The only problem? There is no Leroy Avenue in Wilmington. And Jockim Alberton, who listed both his employer and occupation as "Fdsa Fdsa," does not show up in a search of public records.

A New York Times analysis of campaign finance records this week found nearly 3,000 donations to Obama from more than a dozen people listing apparently fictitious donor information.

The contributions represent a tiny fraction of the record $450 million Obama has raised. But the obviously questionable donations - some donors simply entered gibberish for their names - raise questions about whether the Obama campaign is adequately vetting its unprecedented flood of donors.

It is unclear why someone making a political donation would want to enter a fake name. Some perhaps did it for privacy reasons. Another more ominous possibility, of course, is fraud, perhaps in order to donate beyond the maximum limits.

The campaign finance records for Sen. John McCain appear to contain far fewer obviously fake names.

Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, highlighted the more than 2.5 million donors it has had to wade through and said: "We have been aggressive about taking every available step to make sure our contributions are appropriate, updating our systems when necessary."

But even a contributor using the name "Jgtj Jfggjjfgj" and the address "thjtrj" in "gjtjtjtjtjtjr, AP," was able to contribute $370 in a series of $10 donations in August.
Federal candidates are not required to itemize contributions below $200 to the FEC unless the donor's cumulative total adds up to more than $200. Roughly 70 percent of the contributions to Obama below $200 are not reported, compared to more than 75 percent of McCain's.

The Republican National Committee filed a complaint against the Obama campaign this week with the FEC, questioning the legitimacy of the more than $220 million in donations below $200.

OBAMA BUYS TELEVISION TIME
Barack Obama has scheduled a half-hour commercial for prime time on Oct. 29, six days before Election Day. Obama campaign officials said the campaign had secured a 30-minute block of time at 8 p.m. on CBS and NBC. CBS already was juggling its lineup to accommodate the Democratic presidential candidate, moving back an episode of "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

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