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The president of the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants (RISCPA) has been fined for unreported contributions and expenditures by the organization’s political action committee, as well as for missing numerous campaign finance reports. consent order It was approved by the Rhode Island State Board of Elections on Tuesday.
RISCPA President Melissa Travis will pay a $1,000 personal fine for campaign finance violations if she agrees to meet future reporting deadlines and forfeit $1,000 in unreported donations. The amount may be reduced to $500. The consent order was issued following an audit of RISCPA’s PAC, of which Travis is chairman, that identified missed deadlines, unreported contributions and spending patterns from January 2021 to July 2023. is detailed.
Among them are seven campaign finance reports missing, which are typically filed quarterly and have additional deadlines around the election. He made $3,800 in unreported personal contributions. and $4,257 in unreported campaign spending, including 22 donations to political candidates. One political candidate received $1,050 in contributions from a PAC in 2022, which exceeds the $1,000 limit under state law.
The audit also revealed $164 in receipts from unknown sources that had not been reported.
Travis did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday night. However, the consent order includes a response from the organization that attributes the violation to the “misconduct” of an unidentified individual assigned to file campaign finance reports. Travis’ “illness has impaired his ability to supervise the individual,” his response states.
That person lost access to the political action committee’s campaign finance account, and the PAC hired a new person to oversee campaign finance reporting.
Travis has 30 days to confiscate $1,164 from the PAC’s campaign account due to unreported donations and receipts of unknown origin. She must pay a $500 fine within 90 days. According to the consent order, if she does not pay the fine within 10 days of the agreed-upon deadline, her fine will be tacked on by an additional $500.
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