Retired state investigator asks Maryland Prosecutor to examine Ivan Bates’ campaign fundraising reporting

A retired public corruption investigator has filed a criticism with the Point out Prosecutor from Ivan Bates, a prospect for Baltimore State’s Lawyer, indicating Bates “appears to have damaged campaign finance laws by failing to disclose sizeable expenses on his marketing campaign report.”

The result of the alleged lapse is to artificially inflate what money he has on hand, wrote James Cabezas, who spent 3 a long time as Maryland’s chief investigator of community corruption, in a letter inquiring Point out Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III to look into. [A response from the Bates campaign is below.]

Cabezas mentioned that Bates, a Baltimore protection lawyer who is working towards indicted State’s Legal professional Marilyn Mosby in the June Democratic principal, noted elevating $233,707 in his most latest marketing campaign report.

He had an unpaid financial loan of $125,000 owed to developer Jack Luetkemeyer, co-chairman of Continental Realty Corp. Bates claimed generating a own mortgage of $128,000, which in essence protected the mortgage reimbursement to Luetkemeyer.

“In other text, following repaying the personal loan to Mr. Luetkemeyer, devoid of his particular bank loan, his marketing campaign would only have experienced $97,982 to report,” Cabezas claimed.

While this sort of loans are not illegal, Cabezas pointed out, Bates failed to report expenses that had been incurred by the marketing campaign in the course of the reporting time period they were incurred.

“Even nevertheless he held fundraisers and has actively campaigned, Bates documented no expenditures for salaries or other compensation,” Cabezas wrote. “He noted no bills for fundraising. Equally items have $ entries.”

Less than Maryland regulation, costs for salaries and compensation, as very well as for fundraising fees, have to be described in the period of time they are incurred.

Bates: “I will not be distracted”

Bates, reached by The Brew, said he would read Cabezas’ letter and supply a response. His short statement tonight does not handle any of the prices. It reads in complete:

“Ivan Bates is laser-focused on working a marketing campaign that is centered on lowering criminal offense and likely soon after violent repeat offenders. He will not be distracted by political problems that look for to divert voters notice from the violent crime and electing an seasoned and moral prosecutor.”

Nick Machado, a spokesman for Bates, contacted The Brew to dispute a range in Cabezas’ letter, stating “our total was actually $361k elevated, and we particularly discounted the loan.”

In his letter, Cabezas mentioned that Bates reported no fundraising charges even while he held a December 7, 2021 party at The Bygone cafe.

Included in Cabezas’ complaint was a duplicate of the invitation, in which donors ended up asked to mail checks “c/o Rice Consulting” for the occasion, held at the Atlas Restaurant Group eatery at the 4 Seasons in Harbor East.

Prominently observed on the invitation is that the party would function “Special Visitor Sheila Dixon,” the previous Baltimore mayor who has endorsed Bates in his operate to unseat incumbent Mosby.

Expenditures for the party are listed nowhere on Bates’ campaign report. The report does record $12,000 in contributions by Atlas CEO Alex Smith and his spouse, Christina Ghani.

Ivan Bates December 7, 2021 fundraiser invitation.

Cabezas also notes that the expenditures of fundraiser Rachael Rice – ordinarily sizable – have been not disclosed in Bates’ report, filed with the Condition Elections Board in January.

In one more state’s attorney’s race, Rice Consulting was the fundraiser for candidate Charles Curlett. In that marketing campaign, Cabezas claimed, Curlett documented having to pay Rice $14,398 in service fees for Oct 2016, December 2016, and January 2017.

Is Scott aide the Marketing campaign Manager?

Also described in Cabezas’ letter is Marvin James, who served as Bates’ campaign supervisor in his unsuccessful 2018 run for state’s attorney.

If Bates is making use of James in this capability yet again, Cabezas says, individuals costs would be sizeable as nicely. “In March, April, and Could of 2018, Mr. James was paid out $7,548, $6,000 and $6,000, respectively,” Cabezas wrote.

“Assuming Mr. James is performing this position yet again, it would be unlawful to fall short to report these significant charges,” Cabezas wrote.

Bates’ marketing campaign report does not checklist any wage charge for James, although James’ title does show up in a February 2021 reimbursement of $2,237.04 by the campaign, apparently in connection with a Belair Highway storage centre.

James is at the moment outlined as performing in an $82,000-a-yr position in the place of work of Mayor Brandon Scott, whose profitable mayoral campaign James managed in 2020. Cabezas’ letter describes James as “a senior advisor and deputy mayor.”

“Declining to report those charges to prevent publicizing this connection is also illegal,” Cabezas famous in his letter to prosecutor Howard.

James did not return voicemail messages left for him tonight.

Machado also texted to say that “Marvin James is not the campaign supervisor of this race.”

Questioned if James is furnishing any services to the campaign, Machado has not replied.