The Michigan Democratic Party owes half a million dollars in fines over problems related to bingo games used as political fundraisers.
It’s one of the largest fines ever levied by the Federal Elections Commission.
The state Democratic Party ran bingo games for about 14 years to generate small donations, usually in cash.
The problems were found on the watch of then-party chair Lon Johnson. He says an internal review turned up several problems, including more than four million dollars in contributions that went unreported.
“And when you find a problem of that magnitude, or any magnitude, you have a responsibility and an obligation to self-report.”
Johnson says the state party also stopped using bingo games as fundraisers.