Former MTG Staffer Ran Fake Ohio Derailment Charity

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

A political consultant who acted as U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s 2020 campaign manager and two others have agreed to pay more than $50,000 in restitution and penalties for their roles in operating a phony East Palestine charity in the aftermath of a widely-publicized train derailment. Under a settlement announced Thursday by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Isaiah Wartman and Luke Mahoney of WAMA Strategies must pay more than $22,000 in restitution to a local food bank.

Michael Peppel, the co-founder of the fake charity, called the Ohio Clean Water Fund, agreed to pay a $25,000 civil penalty and a lifetime ban on him starting, running or soliciting for any charity in Ohio, according to a Yost release. Wartman and Mahoney were fundraisers for the Ohio Clean Water Fund, a fake charity that collected nearly $149,000 from donors in the aftermath of the Feb. 3 derailment, which released toxic chemicals into the area, leading to evacuations and reports of health issues.

Read the full article.

There’s much more. No paywall. Greene is still paying WAMA Strategies for consulting. Peppel previously agreed to pay $132,000 to the food bank.

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s 2020 campaign manager, as well as two others who worked for other members of Congress, have agreed to pay more than $50,000 for their roles in an East Palestine charity scam https://t.co/SJ6GcPWNfi

— Jeremy Pelzer (@jpelzer) August 10, 2023

Luke Mahoney of WAMA Strategies worked as a campaign staffer for U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican must pay more than $22,000 in restitution for role in East Palestine charity scam.

Tell me who should we trust?

More GOP lies!!

— Z family (@jmzardeskas) August 11, 2023

As I have previously reported, it was Isaiah Wartman who purchased the Ye24 domain name with @mtgreenee’s campaign funds with her approval in November 2022 the same day Ye (Kanye West & Nick Fuentes) had dinner with Donald Trump at Mar a Lago.

The domain was purchased by… https://t.co/Eq6iIxbVrz pic.twitter.com/PJpPja5T9F

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) July 19, 2023