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Indianapolis Star
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Gabe Whitley, ex-candidate for Congress, gets prison for made-up campaign contributions
Former congressional candidate "Honest Gabe" Whitley was sentenced to three months in prison this week after pleading guilty to making false statements to the Federal Election Commission, court records show. The charge stemmed from fake contributions Whitley claimed on various campaign finance reports between 2023 and 2024 during his failed run in the Republican primary for Indiana's 7th District congressional seat. According to the initial complaint filed in U.S. District Court in January, Whitley made up the biographical details of dozens of people and claimed over $200,000 in false contributions on quarterly and year-end reports for 'Honest Gabe for Congress.' Whitley also falsely claimed to loan his own campaign $100,000, the complaint says. All the while he acted as his own treasurer and certified in official records that the contributions and reports were 'true, correct and complete' to the best of his knowledge. On Tuesday, District Court Judge James R. Sweeney sentenced Whitley to three months of incarceration in the custody of U.S. Bureau of Prisons, as well as a year of supervised release afterward, court records show. The judgement recommends Whitley "serve his term of imprisonment at the lowest security level deemed appropriate" and undergo a mental health evaluation. As of Friday, Whitley wasn't listed in the Bureau of Prison's database. Calling himself "Honest Gabe," Whitley first inserted himself into Evansville right-wing politics starting in 2018. In quick succession, he declared his candidacies for everything from Vanderburgh County Commissioner to the Indiana Statehouse to Evansville mayor, usually dropping out before any vote took place. His mayoral bid, for instance, launched in 2022 and ended several months before the 2023 Republican primary. The sentencing comes more than two years after an investigation by the Courier & Press' Tom Langhorne found that multiple people listed on different Whitley campaign finance reports claimed to have never heard of him. Whitley denied falsifying the reports at the time. He went on to file a lawsuit against Langhorne, the Courier & Press and USA TODAY in federal court. He sought $15 million in damages. A judge quickly dismissed the case. As a plaintiff, Whitley has also filed federal complaints against the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, and Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears, among others. According to court records, those were all dismissed. And those are just a few of the multitude of court cases involving Whitley in recent years. In November, a Marion County Superior Court Judge ordered him to pay $400,000 to Indianapolis attorney and journalist Abdul-Hakim Shabazz after blog and X posts reportedly authored by Whitley accused Shabazz of pedophilia and theft. Shabazz has never been charged with any such crime and he vehemently denied the accusations. The two are also embroiled in criminal court. In August, the Marion County Prosecutor's office charged Whitley with a Level 6 felony count of intimidation after he allegedly threatened Shabazz on social media. A jury trial is scheduled for July, court records show. Whitley moved to Indianapolis in 2023. He eventually launched his 'Honest Gabe for Congress' campaign and made it as far as Election Day in the Republican primary for the 7th District congressional seat. He lost.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gabe Whitley, ex-candidate for Congress, gets prison for made-up campaign contributions
Former congressional candidate "Honest Gabe" Whitley was sentenced to three months in prison this week after pleading guilty to making false statements to the Federal Election Commission, court records show. The charge stemmed from fake contributions Whitley claimed on various campaign finance reports between 2023 and 2024 during his failed run in the Republican primary for Indiana's 7th District congressional seat. According to the initial complaint filed in U.S. District Court in January, Whitley made up the biographical details of dozens of people and claimed over $200,000 in false contributions on quarterly and year-end reports for 'Honest Gabe for Congress.' Whitley also falsely claimed to loan his own campaign $100,000, the complaint says. All the while he acted as his own treasurer and certified in official records that the contributions and reports were 'true, correct and complete' to the best of his knowledge. On Tuesday, District Court Judge James R. Sweeney sentenced Whitley to three months of incarceration in the custody of U.S. Bureau of Prisons, as well as a year of supervised release afterward, court records show. The judgement recommends Whitley "serve his term of imprisonment at the lowest security level deemed appropriate" and undergo a mental health evaluation. As of Friday, Whitley wasn't listed in the Bureau of Prison's database. Calling himself "Honest Gabe," Whitley first inserted himself into Evansville right-wing politics starting in 2018. In quick succession, he declared his candidacies for everything from Vanderburgh County Commissioner to the Indiana Statehouse to Evansville mayor, usually dropping out before any vote took place. His mayoral bid, for instance, launched in 2022 and ended several months before the 2023 Republican primary. The sentencing comes more than two years after an investigation by the Courier & Press' Tom Langhorne found that multiple people listed on different Whitley campaign finance reports claimed to have never heard of him. Whitley denied falsifying the reports at the time. He went on to file a lawsuit against Langhorne, the Courier & Press and USA TODAY in federal court. He sought $15 million in damages. A judge quickly dismissed the case. As a plaintiff, Whitley has also filed federal complaints against the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, and Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears, among others. According to court records, those were all dismissed. And those are just a few of the multitude of court cases involving Whitley in recent years. In November, a Marion County Superior Court Judge ordered him to pay $400,000 to Indianapolis attorney and journalist Abdul-Hakim Shabazz after blog and X posts reportedly authored by Whitley accused Shabazz of pedophilia and theft. Shabazz has never been charged with any such crime and he vehemently denied the accusations. The two are also embroiled in criminal court. In August, the Marion County Prosecutor's office charged Whitley with a Level 6 felony count of intimidation after he allegedly threatened Shabazz on social media. A jury trial is scheduled for July, court records show. Whitley moved to Indianapolis in 2023. He eventually launched his 'Honest Gabe for Congress' campaign and made it as far as Election Day in the Republican primary for the 7th District congressional seat. He lost. This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Gabe Whitley, ex-candidate for Congress, sentenced to prison
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Indiana congressional candidate gets prison sentence in campaign finance fraud case
Complaints obtained by the Indiana Capital Chronicle accuse Gabe Whitley's 'Honest Gabe for Congress' committee of false campaign contributions and fraudulent finance reporting. (Photo illustration by Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Former Indiana Congressional candidate Gabriel 'Gabe' Whitley was sentenced to three months in federal prison Tuesday after he admittedly falsified campaign finance records and lying about raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions ahead of the May 2024 primary. The sentence followed a plea deal agreement offered by the U.S. attorney's office earlier this year. Judge James Sweeney, who serves on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, said at the Tuesday hearing in Indianapolis that the 'fairly short' imposed sentence took into account Whitley's lack of criminal history, in addition to his 'troubled, traumatic childhood' and multiple, ongoing mental health challenges. But Whitley's campaign crime 'is a serious offense' and involved 'multiple layers of fabrication,' Sweeney said. 'The power of trust that we, the American people, put in the political process and in our representatives — the public needs to trust the system, at least,' the judge said. 'We need to have confidence in the process and the integrity of the system, even if the political candidate doesn't have that same integrity.' Whitley claimed in the courtroom that he did not know his campaign finance fillings were fraudulent. But the judge said his sentence — less than the six month-maximum which could have been imposed — took into account that Whitley 'clearly knew there was something not proper.' Sweeney emphasized, too, that serving some prison time 'will help deter others' who are running for political office from committing similar campaign crimes. Questions about Whitley's campaign finances were first reported by the Indiana Capital Chronicle early last year. Whitley admitted that he lied to the FEC in three separate reports about hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from supporters and loans from himself. Specifically, Whitley admitted that in October 2023, he falsely claimed that 67 people — whose biographical details he made up — had contributed approximately $222,690 to his Honest Gabe for Congress, according to federal protestors. In January 2024, Whitley again falsely reported contributions from individuals 'whose biographical details he fabricated,' prosecutors said. He did the same in April 2024, falsifying a $100,000 loan to his campaign. In addition to prison time, Whitley's sentence included a $100 fine, a $100 fee for special assessments and a year of supervised probation following his release. Sweeney further recommended that Whitley complete substance abuse treatment — citing a positive drug test for marijuana in late January — plus a mental health evaluation and treatment, as well as vocational training. In remarks provided during the two-hour hearing, Whitley asked the court for 'leniency' and indicated that he has 'no intentions of returning to politics.' 'I am embarrassed to be here today,' he said in a prepared statement. 'I take full responsibility for my crimes, and I deeply regret the harm caused by my actions.' 'This prosecution has been embarrassing … and I know this will always follow me,' Whitley continued, referring to news articles and social media posts about his case 'that future employers can look up' online. He deprived the electorate of what they value most — and why these rules exist — and that's transparency. – Federal prosecutor Nicole Lockhart Still, the former candidate pointed a finger at a former employer 'that taught me to lie about my filings … but later I learned it was not correct.' Whitley did not name the company when asked by the judge. Whitley's court-appointed attorney, Gwendolyn Beitz, said the employer's name was previously provided to the prosecution team. Whitley repeatedly referenced his autism and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses, which he said contribute to his 'hot head' and 'impulsive tendencies.' 'I don't intend to come across the way people look at me,' he added. But prosecutor Nicole Lockhart maintained that 'this was not an impulsive crime.' She said Whitley's fraudulent filings 'happened multiple times, over multiple months, in multiple reports.' 'He deprived the electorate of what they value most — and why these rules exist — and that's transparency,' Lockhart said. Indiana congressional candidate faces campaign finance scrutiny She additionally pointed to two recent lawsuits lodged by Whitley, one against the FBI Indianapolis Field Office and the federal agent who investigated the case; and the other against the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana and the U.S. Department of Justice. The lawsuits, which have since been dismissed, were filed by Whitley after his February plea hearing and alleged that his admissions of guilt had been coerced, and that he was being 'maliciously prosecute(s) … without probable cause, motivated by a conflict of interest and political bias.' Prosecutors said those 'incendiary' complaints — along with other lawsuits in Marion County Superior Court — showed that Whitley 'has continued to demonstrate an utter lack of respect for the judiciary.' In one motion filed in Marion County, for example, Whitley stated that the African American judge presiding over his case, got his 'law license from a Cracker Jack box because they don't give monkeys real law license [sic].' U.S. attorneys held that 'such conduct from an individual who had pleaded guilty to a criminal offense only several weeks before reflects a lack of seriousness in engaging with the judicial process and suggests that a probationary sentence would be an insufficient deterrent.' Defending her client, Beitz contended that Whitley's speech — while detestable — is protected under the First Amendment. But a turning point in the hearing appeared to come when Sweeney questioned Whitley directly about campaign finance concerns predating his federal case. The judge specifically cited reporting by The Evansville Courier & Press in 2021 about Whitley's campaign documents filed during his short-lived Evansville mayoral campaign. The paper reported Whitley's fundraising reports filed with the state in 2021 and 2022 raised questions that he may have violated Indiana election law by documenting he raised thousands of dollars in campaign cash from people who denied giving him donations. Whitley said he hired an unnamed political consulting firm to solicit contributions via email on his behalf. He reported no such expenditures on his 2021 and 2022 campaign finance filings, though. CONTACT US Sweeney pressed Whitley about earlier suspicions of fraud and asked whether he had filed the false federal reports before or after the state-level allegations surfaced. Whitley told the judge he was never aware of problems with his campaign filings and emphasized that Indiana's Election Division dismissed related complaints. Even so, Sweeney said that was no excuse for later, fraudulent filings during Whitley's congressional race, and argued that the former candidate 'should have been on notice' as far back as 2021. Complaints alleging Whitley's excessive federal campaign contributions and fraudulent financial reporting were sent to the Federal Election Commission (FEc) and the Indiana Election Division in February 2024 by Gabrielle Kendall, wife of WIBC radio host Rob Kendall. At the time, Whitley told the Indiana Capital Chronicle the accusations were 'absurd.' When asked by the Capital Chronicle if the contested donors are real, Whitley said 'there's no more comment I'm going to say on that,' Whitley said. 'We've been in compliance with the FEC. We talked with them. We have a good relationship with them.' Later, in August 2024, Whitley was arrested in a separate case for alleged online threats and harassment he made against Indianapolis-based political commentator Abdul-Hakim Shabazz. That case is still pending in Marion County Superior Court, with a jury trial scheduled for mid-July. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX ###
