House Judiciary Committee: Dem Fundraiser Made Its Fraud-Prevention Rules ‘More Lenient’ in 2024

A new report from the House Judiciary Committee, the Committee on House Administration, and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform reveals “serious gaps” in Democratic fundraiser ActBlue’s fraud prevention systems.

The joint interim report, Fraud on ActBlue: How the Democrats’ Top Fundraising Platform Opens the Door for Illegal Election Contributions, shows that “ActBlue made its fraud-prevention rules “more lenient” twice in 2024—even though there is extensive fraud on the platform, including from foreign sources.”

🚨 Fraud on ActBlue: How The Democrats’ Top Fundraising platform Opens the Door for illegal election Contributions

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— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) April 2, 2025

A press release from the House Judiciary Committee says internal documents show that ActBlue officials are aware of “foreign and domestic fraudulent actors” exploiting the fundraising platform but refuse to take the threat seriously.

The investigation found that ActBlue relaxed its rules, instructing fraud-prevention employees to “look for reasons to accept contributions” instead erring on the side of flagging suspicious donations.

The New York Post reports that a communications memo in early 2024 coached employees to handle fraud concerns “quietly” and to “Keep as much distance between [Card Certification Values] and the concept of ‘security’ as possible,” while acknowledging the risks of “money laundering” and “straw donors.”

An internal ActBlue memo showed that the platform was “blocking less than 0.1% of all contributions” flagged by its system as fraudulent.

Internal communications showed that ActBlue’s chief fraud-prevention official was willing to accept 10% more fraud while focusing on DEI, rather than seeking ways to reduce or eliminate fraud.

Investigators also learned that, during a 30-day window between September and October 2024, ActBlue officials became aware of 237 separate donations made with domestic prepaid credit cards from foreign IP addresses.

The report states

Altogether, ActBlue’s internal documents and communications paint a damning picture: despite repeated instances of fraudulent donations to Democrat campaigns and causes from domestic and foreign sources, ActBlue is not demonstrating a serious effort to deter fraud on its platform.

Committee Chairmen Jim Jordan (R-OH), Bryan Steil (R-WI), and James Comer (R-KY) sent a letter to the CEO of ActBlue, seeking additional documents and transcribed interviews with two ActBlue staff members.

ActBlue has helped to raise more than $16 billion for Democratic causes since 2004 and directed nearly $2 billion to Democratic candidates and causes during the 2024 election.