Langhorne, PA man admits creating fake super PAC, false donations

💲Christopher Richardson filed with the Federal Election Commission in 2020

💲He reported donations of $4.8 million

💲An investigation by Politico unraveled the super PAC

A Langhorne man admitted to creating a fake political action committee that claimed to have raised millions of dollars and using a "donor's" name to obtain a credit card.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Christopher Richardson, 37, admitted to filing the independent, expenditure-only super PAC named Americans for Progressive Action (AFPA) in March 2020 with the Federal Election Commission.  Fake names for the Super PAC's treasure and designated agent.

Richardson filed a false quarterly report stating that AFPA raised $4.8 million from several fictitious individuals, according to the DOJ. In a subsequent filing, Richardson stated all the donations had been refunded. Another filing falsely stated the super PAC spent $1.5 million to buy advertising against certain U.S. Senate candidates.

The DOJ also said Richardson made over 200 transactions on a fraudulently obtained credit card.

Richardson pleaded guilty to one count of making a false entry in a record and one count of access device fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the false entry in a record and 10 years for an access device charge.

Politico first reported on AFPA in May 2020 when it found that groups it claimed to have paid for services never heard of the the super PAC. Efforts to contact the "treasuer" got vague responses and AFPA had no social media presence or a website.

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