An unknown actor stole more than $16,300 from the National Republican Congressional Committee, according to new federal records reviewed by NOTUS.
The NRCC told the Federal Election Commission that the theft came from a “foreign country” but later clarified to NOTUS that it has no evidence of the thief’s location.
It’s the latest in a litany of thefts that have befallen prominent federal political committees.
The “fraud,” as the NRCC described it, occurred July 7 when the campaign committee attempted to pay a bill from Ranger Wi-Fi Consulting, a Texas-based firm that specializes in helping clients “optimize their wireless networks while ensuring healthy security measures are in place.”
Trending
In a statement to NOTUS on Sunday, NRCC spokesman Will Kiley confirmed that “a vendor’s systems were compromised and an unauthorized party intercepted a payment as a result.”
“Protecting donor funds is a top priority for the NRCC,” Kiley said. “We caught it immediately, we’re working to recover the funds, and we’ve taken steps to ensure it can’t happen again.”
In a separate message to federal regulators, the NRCC said it is “working diligently with banking and legal authorities to recover the funds.”
A representative for Ranger Wi-Fi Consulting could not be reached for comment Sunday. The FBI, which generally investigates crimes like these because they cross state lines, did not immediately return a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time thieves have hit the NRCC. In December 2024, someone used the committee’s credit card to go on a luxury shopping spree, spending a couple thousand dollars at Canada Goose and Fendi, OpenSecrets reported.
And the NRCC has notable company: Fraudsters, scammers or embezzlers have in recent years struck the already cash-strapped Democratic National Committee and a host of other political committees including those led by Sens. John Thune (R-South Dakota), Chuck Schumer (D-New York), Mark Warner (D-Virginia), Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island).
The campaign committees of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Brittany Pettersen (D-Colorado) and Neal Dunn (R-Florida) have also lost money because of criminal activity.
And Mike Rogers, a former Republican congressman who’s running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, lost $16,700 in campaign cash this spring to a suspected cyberthief.
Meanwhile, political committees sponsored by the National Venture Capital Association, Seafarers International Union, American Fintech Council, accounting giant KPMG and law firm Arnold & Porter have also experienced thefts, with some allegedly involving inside jobs.
This story has been updated with further information from the NRCC about the fraudster’s potential location.
Author
