PAC accused of illegal donations
A little-known PAC secretly and illegally funneled thousands of dollars from a wealthy Missouri businessman' s companies to Oklahoma politicians, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission alleged Friday after an investigation.
The Ethics Commission sued the PAC — Oklahoman's (sic) For Healthy Living — for financial penalties, saying it “repeatedly and intentionally violated the campaign finance laws of Oklahoma.”
The only donors to the PAC over the last four years were two Missouri companies, Capital Health Management Inc. and Affordable Equity Partners Inc. The Ethics Commission alleged Capital Health Management donated $35,000 and Affordable Equity Partners donated $8,000 in that time period in violation of state ethics rules against corporate donations.
The president of both companies is Jeffrey E. Smith, a Missouri developer who has come under scrutiny in that state for funding PACs there with donations from Capital Health Management Inc. He did not immediately respond to calls to his main company, JES Holdings LLC, for comment.
Smith develops, builds and manage slow-income housing across the country, including in Oklahoma. Mockingbird Estates, a senior living community, recently opened in Still water. J ES Holdings LLC said online that its Affordable Equity Partners was instrumental in drafting legislation in Oklahoma in 2014 for a state tax credit to build or preserve homes for working class families and seniors.
Oklahoman's for Healthy Living was created in 2013 and has reported only making one donation — for $8,000 — since mid-2014. It actually made 18 donations totaling $27,750 to state candidates and state PACs in 2015, 2016 and 2017, according to the lawsuit. During that time, it “routinely” reported to the Ethics Commission that i t had no activity, in violation of campaign finance l aws, according to the lawsuit.
One recipient, House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols, said Friday he gave $ 1,000 from his campaign funds to the state's general fund after being notified by the Ethics Commission' s executive director about the issue.
“I gave it to the general fund because I don't want any corporate donations,” said Echols, who got $1,000 from the PAC in January 2017. “I do not want to give the money back if it turns out they were violating the rules.”
The Ethics Commission also issuing two lobbyis ts, James Milner,t he chair of Oklahoman's f or Healthy Living, and James M cS pad den, the PA C' s treasurer. Milner wrote the checks to the candidates and PACs that went unreported. Both deny wrongdoing. They are cooperating with the Ethics Commission and have turned over information that is contained in the lawsuit, their attorneys, Jonathan D. Buxton and Ryan Leonard, said.
The attorneys said Milner “at no time had any knowledge whatsoever that any contributions made into the PAC were inappropriate” and relied on a designated filing agent to make reports correctly to the Ethics Commission.
The attorneys said McSpadden in October 2015 agreed to be listed as the PAC's treasurer but had no further involvement with the PAC. The attorneys said McSpadden “at no time had personal knowledge concerning contributions made into or from the PAC.”
The attorneys said both defendants “did not intentionally violate any provision of the ethics code and look forward to resolving this matter as expeditiously as possible.”
The lawsuit was filed Friday in Oklahoma County District Court.