United States Congressman Duncan D. Hunter pled guilty toknowingly stealing and spending hundredsof thousands of dollars from his reelection campaign on Tuesday. The congressman used the money of his trusted supporters to fund a lifestyle he and his wife couldn’t afford otherwise, spending it on things like mistresses, lavish hotels, and video games fromSteam.
A little over a thousand dollars went to video games, but the total estimated amount of money stolen exceeds 150000 dollars, and apparently, Mr. Hunter racked up these funds over the six years between 2010 and 2016. It was only in 2016 that investigators questioned him on how he managed to afford all of his expenses, and from there the ruse fell apart.
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At first, Margaret E. Hunter, Duncan’swife, seemed to know nothing about the stolen money, but it later came to light that she not only knew, but willing participated in the thievery. In fact, not only did Mrs. Hunter understand what was going on, but the indictment portrays her as the primary offender. Mr. Hunter provided her with his campaign credit card against the advice of his treasurer, and, on two separate occasions, hired her as his paid campaign manager with the complete understanding that she was going to use the campaign’s money for themselves. In her plea agreement, Mrs. Hunter admitted that she and her husband spent the funds on things like family vacations, bachelor parties, and treating their friends to thousand-dollar dinners.
The Hunters turned to campaign funds because of the pitiful state of their finances. Before and throughout this scandal, the two overdrew more than 1000 times from their bank accounts, racking up a debt of around 37726 dollars. They consistently maxed out their credit cards, leaving them with five-figure balances to pay off on top of a multitude of other fees. To say that their debt is “crippling” would be a drastic understatement.
Considering the situation the two found themselves in, it would make sense if they used the stolen campaign money solely to stay afloat. It would seem greed led the couple toinstead spend most of the money on things like video gamesand family vacations. Maybe the two figured they would get caught in the end and wanted to enjoy the extravagances while they lasted. Regardless of their reasons, they both now face a potential five years of jail time and a 250000 dollar fine that’ll only add further to their debt.
