(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Financial records revealed that Occupy Democrats, a highly trafficked left-wing media outlet, has been funneling over a quarter of the donations it received into a “consulting” company owned and directed by the founders of the publication.
It turns out that $250K of the $797K went into a company owned by Omar and his brother.
They are literally fundraising to pay ‘fundraising consultants’, some of which turns out to be themselves. Insane. https://t.co/wYJkExVY4D
— Hamish Mitchell (@H_MitchellPhoto) September 26, 2022
According to The Post Millennial, founders Omar and Rafael Rivero raised $797,999 in 2022 in donations for their political action committee.
In 2020, they received $1.08 million and spent only $649,450, leaving them with more than $400,000 at the beginning of 2022.
So far in 2022, the group has spent around $1.7 million on fundraising efforts, with an additional $313,165 on media related activities.
Records show that the group spent nothing on federal candidates, but did pay $250,000 to Blue Deal LLC, a company that “sells campaign materials and promotional products to Democratic campaigns and Progressive organizations,” according to its website.
Blue Deal was founded by Rafael Rivero and is managed by him and his brother Omar.
The information was initially posted by Twitter user Hamish Mitchell, who included screenshots of the findings and tagged Omar Rivero.
Rivero responded, claiming that the people who were coming after him did not understand or appreciate what Occupy Democrats does.
the dudes who run @OccupyDemocrats are under fire right now for allegedly pocketing PAC funds and i’m screaming at the owners (now deleted) response pic.twitter.com/dO7cah9whF
— shoe (@shoe0nhead) September 26, 2022
“If you understood the time and effort that goes into making viral memes—and the impact they have—you might respect our work more,” Rivero wrote in a now-deleted tweet.
In his heated defense, Rivero also claimed that as a super-PAC, Occupy Democrats is unable to donate directly to candidates.
However, as a hybrid PAC, this is not the case, as one Twitter user pointed out.
“The guy who runs Occupy Democrats is apparently unfamiliar with his own group’s legal structure,” Axios journalist Lachlan Markay posted on Twitter. “It’s a hybrid pac, which, unlike a super pac, maintains a segregated bank account from which it can contribute directly to candidates.”
Twitter users were in an uproar about the group’s underhanded use of donated money.
It has not been reported whether legal action has been taken against Occupy Democrats.
