Nonprofit founded by longtime candidate Stacey Abrams settles complaint with Georgia Ethics Commission, illegally spending millions of dollars to support Abrams’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign He plans to pay the state $300,000 for this.
The New Georgia Project and its fundraising arm, the New Georgia Project Action Fund, have committed approximately $4.2 million in contributions and approximately $3.2 million in expenditures, according to a consent order released Wednesday following an approval vote by the Ethics Commission. It was not disclosed. These were primarily used to support Abrams during the 2018 primary and general elections.
The order also found that the group failed to register as a political committee, failed to file numerous required disclosure reports, and failed to disclose millions of dollars in political contributions and spending. , detailing 16 violations of state law. According to the order, by agreeing to the consent order and paying a $300,000 penalty, the New Georgia Project admitted it violated the law.
The consent order also details the involvement of the New Georgia Project, which is advocating for a 2019 ballot initiative to expand public transportation. The violations included donations of more than $600,000 and expenditures of more than $173,000.
David Emadi, executive director of the Georgia Ethics Commission, said in a statement that the fine is the largest ever imposed by the commission and the largest ever imposed by the state ethics commission in a campaign finance case. He said that there is a possibility that
“While this fine is significant, it is also appropriate given the extent to which state law was violated in this case,” Emadi said. “This is the largest and most significant example of an organization illegally influencing a statewide election in Georgia that we have uncovered to date, and it is a threat to the public and future potential bad actors.” We believe this sends a clear message to both parties that we will hold them accountable.”
David Fox, who represented the New Georgia Project at the hearing, said the agreement was a “reasonable solution” to what happened years ago, adding that the group was “eager to move forward.” “There is,” he added.
At Wednesday’s Ethics Committee meeting, Emadi cited social media posts, checks, solicitations and phone banking information as evidence of the New Georgia Project and Action Fund’s efforts to support Abrams in 2018. Presented. The presentation also showed the daily overlap between the two groups.
The board unanimously approved the consent order.
The agreement ends a year-long investigation into the group’s activities that dates back to 2019 and has been brought to court multiple times. The Ethics Commission subpoenaed the group’s bank records and amended its complaint in 2022 after the Georgia Court of Appeals granted access to statements.
In another case, the New Georgia Project tried to block an ethics commission investigation, but in July 2024 The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s decision, which had originally stayed the case. investigation.
A 2023 POLITICO investigation found that the organization’s former executive director, Nse Ufort, owed the organization thousands of dollars in “non-work-related” repayments.
Abrams founded the New Georgia Project in 2014 as an offshoot of another nonprofit called Third Sector Development. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, chaired the organization for more than two years, from when it was first established as an independent 501(c)3 in 2017 until January 2020.
A spokesperson for Mr. Abrams did not respond to a request for comment.
