Marjorie Taylor Greene's former campaign manager pays up in East Palestine charity scam

Columbus, Ohio - A former campaign manager for Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has been ordered to pay for his alleged role in a charity fund scam.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's former campaign manager was ordered to pay $25,000 for his alleged role in a fraudulent charity fund.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's former campaign manager was ordered to pay $25,000 for his alleged role in a fraudulent charity fund.  © POOL/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP

This charity's organizers raised big bucks, then pocketed most of it.

Isaiah Wartman and his business partner Luke Mahoney must each pay $25,000 for the fraudulent Ohio Clean Fund - $22,000 in restitution and $3,000 in investigative costs and fees, according to The Guardian.

The charity's co-founder, Michael Peppel, was ordered to pay a $25,000 civil penalty, and is banned from starting or working with a charity in the state.

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The state's attorney general, which prosecuted the case, found that the fund raised $149,000 in donations, which they claimed were going to help victims of the train derailment that happened in East Palestine, Ohio back in February.

The charity was supposed to make donations to the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, but only donated $10,000 of the proceeds – while keeping the rest.

Wartman was the head of MTG's 2020 campaign, helping win her current House seat. Her campaign also paid Wartman and Mahoney's digital firm Wama Strategies close to $71,000, according to her second quarter campaign filings.

An attorney for Wama strategies claims Wartman and Mahoney are the actual victims of fraud by Peppel, and all the raised money has been refunded.

Cover photo: POOL/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP

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