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FEC threatens Rep. Lauren Boebert with legal action after she made Venmo rent payments from her campaign account

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Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) attends the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency on February 27, 2021 in Orlando, Florida.

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  • FEC filings detail that Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert used campaign funds to pay rent and utilities via Venmo.
  • Her campaign says she reimbursed all of the $6,650 spent by her campaign and that it was an error.
  • The FEC says Boebert could still face “further legal action” and needs to provide more information.
  • See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Freshman Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado may face further legal action from the Federal Election Commission after she used campaign funds for a series of rent and utility payments totalling $6,250.

The FEC filings for Boebert’s campaign detail a series of Venmo payments at the beginning of May and June of this year made to Jon Pacheco, whose address is listed as 120 E 3rd St, Rifle, CO – the same property in the western Colorado town where Boebert’s “Shooter’s Grill” restaurant is located.

A campaign spokesman confirmed to Forbes on Wednesday that the payments were in fact “personal expenses.”

In an initial report filed with the FEC in July, each Venmo payment included a note that said “personal expense of Lauren Boebert billed to campaign account in error. Expense has been reimbursed” but did not specify who the payments had been made to. In an updated report filed on Tuesday, Boebert included Pacheco’s name and specified that the payments were for $2,000 monthly rent and as well as $1,325 for each month’s “rent/utilities.”

The FEC sent a letter to Boebert’s campaign in August flagging the issue, asking Boebert to amend her campaign’s reports and to disclose Boebert’s reimbursement on an upcoming October report. “If it is determined that the disbursement(s) constitutes the personal use of campaign funds, the Commission may consider taking further legal action,” the letter said. “However, prompt action to obtain reimbursement of the funds in question will be taken into consideration.”

A spokesperson for the FEC declined to comment specifically on Boebert’s case, but said that campaigns can still face legal action for use of personal funds even if they are reimbursed.

This is not Rep. Boebert’s first time failing to comply with ethics and disclosure requirements for members of Congress.

Boebert previously failed to disclose her husband’s nearly $1 million earnings from energy sector consulting during her campaign last year, only revealing her financial interest in a major industry in her Colorado district in financial disclosure forms filed with the House clerk in August.

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Rep. Lauren Boebert failed to disclose that her husband raked in nearly $1 million from an energy company over 2 years

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., walking without a face mask, left, and Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., head to a House Republican Conference meeting, Wednesday, April 14, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP Images

  • Boebert revealed that her husband earned nearly $1 million between 2019-2020 for energy sector consulting.
  • The freshman congresswoman failed to disclose her husband’s income during her campaign last year.
  • Boebert introduced legislation to reverse President Joe Biden’s ban on oil and gas exploration on federal land.
  • See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert revealed this week that her husband earned nearly a million dollars over 2019 and 2020 for consulting work he did for an energy firm.

The freshman Colorado congresswoman failed to disclose her husband’s income, which was $478,000 in 2020 and $460,000 in 2019, during her campaign last year, the Associated Press first reported. This failure is a violation of ethics and campaign finance laws, which require candidates to disclose their spouse’s and children’s income or assets.

“It is not common for members to not disclose their spouse’s income because it’s just a very clear requirement under the law,” Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics for the Campaign Legal Center, told Insider.

In her 2020 financial disclosure statement, Boebert said her income came from a restaurant, Shooters Grill, and smokehouse she owns with her husband, Jayson. She also listed “Boebert Consulting – spouse” and recorded her husband’s source of income as “N/A,” according to the AP.

Payne said Boebert should provide a “very public explanation” of the discrepancy. He expects the Office of Congressional Ethics will open an inquiry if they have questions about whether the violation was intentional. The required disclosures are designed to ensure that the public can evaluate a candidate’s potential conflicts of interest.

The energy industry is a major player in Colorado’s vast 3rd Congressional District and Boebert, who sits on the House Natural Resources Committee, has taken aggressively pro-oil and -gas positions. She introduced legislation earlier this year seeking to reverse President Joe Biden’s ban on oil and gas leasing and permitting on some federally-owned land.

Her deputy chief of staff, Ben Stout, told the AP that Jayson Boebert “has worked in energy production for 18 years and has had Boebert Consulting since 2012.”

But Boebert Consulting hasn’t filed required regular reports to the state of Colorado and is classified as delinquent, The Washington Post reported. And there is no company called Terra Energy Productions registered in Colorado. There is a Texas firm called Terra Energy Partners, claiming to be “one of the largest producers of natural gas in Colorado.” The congresswoman has previously said her husband is a drilling foreman on a natural gas rig and posted an Instagram photo of him wearing a “Terra” helmet in September 2020.

It’s unclear whether the congresswoman’s failure to disclose her husband’s work and income was intentional or accidental, but the matter could be investigated by congressional ethics officials.

Boebert’s office didn’t respond to Insider’s request for comment.

On Wednesday, the Federal Election Commission sent Boebert a letter demanding more information about four payments amounting to more than $6,000 that Boebert’s campaign paid the congresswoman between May 3 and June 3. Stout told CNBC “the Venmo charges were personal expenses that were billed to the campaign account in error” and that Boebert has already reimbursed her campaign.

“If it is determined that the disbursement(s) constitutes the personal use of campaign funds, the Commission may consider taking further legal action,” Shannon Ringgold, an FEC analyst, wrote.

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Venmo added new privacy options after President Joe Biden’s account was discovered

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In this photo illustration the Venmo – Share Payments logo seen displayed on a smartphone.

Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

  • Venmo added new added in-app privacy controls after President Joe Biden’s account was discovered.
  • The president’s account was discovered earlier this month by reporters in just minutes of searching.
  • The new update lets users set their friends list to be public, visible to friends, or private.
  • See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Venmo has added new privacy options after reporters found President Joe Biden’s account in “less than 10 minutes” of searching.

Venmo, an app for digitally transferring money to and from people you know, added in-app privacy controls which let users set their friends list to be public, visible to friends, or private.

This change comes after the President’s Venmo account was discovered after just a few minutes of searching, Buzzfeed News reported on May 14.

Venmo accounts by default display connections, or “friends.” Accounts for Biden’s children and grandchildren were among those connected to the president’s account, according to Buzzfeed.

The search for Biden’s account began after The New York Times on Friday published an inside look at Biden’s time in the White House. The story said: “One advisor said he had sent the grandchildren money using Venmo.”

A Venmo spokesperson told Insider the company is “consistently evolving and strengthening the Venmo platform for all of our customers.”

“ As part of these ongoing efforts, we have added in-app controls providing customers an option to select a public, friends-only, or private setting for their friends list. We look forward to continuing to provide customers with a seamless payments experience,” the spokesperson said.

Software developer Jane Manchun Wong was first to share the news on Friday: “Venmo is working on friends list privacy settings after Joe Biden’s Venmo friend list was uncovered. Users will also be able to choose whether to appear in other users’ friends lists.”

“As of now, Venmo’s Friends List Privacy is on “Public” by default The screenshot shows “Private” was picked because I tapped the option as soon as I saw it,” Wong added.

Wong doesn’t work for Venmo, but she’s built a following among tech workers, journalists, and enthusiasts for digging up and publicizing unreleased features long before they’re officially announced.

To set your friends list to be private, tap the three stacked lines on the upper right of the main feed, then tap “Settings,” “Privacy,” and then “Friends List.” From here, you can make your friends list visible to any logged in Venmo user, your friends, or only you. You can also choose if you want to appear in other users’ friends lists.

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PayPal will allow users to withdraw crypto funds into third-party wallets

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Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Online-payments giant PayPal Holdings is now allowing users to withdraw cryptocurrencies to third-party wallets, the company told CoinDesk on Wednesday.

“We want to make it as open as possible, and we want to give choice to our consumers, something that will let them pay in any way they want to pay,” PayPal head of cryptocurrency Jose Fernandez da Ponte said during CoinDesk’s Consensus 2021 conference.

He added: “They want to bring their crypto to us so they can use it in commerce, and we want them to be able to take the crypto they acquired with us and take it to the destination of their choice.”

For now, users cannot move cryptocurrencies out of PayPal although they can buy, sell, and hold digital currencies, a feature offered since October 2020.

The new feature announced Wednesday also applies to Venmo, PayPal’s payments service. Venmo in April allowed users the option to invest in four crypto assets: bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and bitcoin cash.

The online giant in November 2020 introduced its new crypto service that lets its users buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies to capitalize on the burgeoning cryptocurrency payments market.

Read more: ‘The best time to buy bitcoin is always now’: The founder of the world’s longest-running crypto exchange told us his best advice for navigating the digital currency’s wild volatility

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Venmo is blocking some payments mentioning Palestinian relief funds. The company says it’s following the law.

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In this photo illustration the Venmo – Share Payments logo seen displayed on a smartphone.

Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

  • Venmo users say the company is blocking some transactions that mention Palestine-related keywords.
  • Venmo told Insider it’s trying to avoid running afoul of US sanctions laws.
  • But the PayPal-owned company wouldn’t say what caused it to suspend payments.
  • See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Some Venmo users are reporting that the PayPal-owned company is preventing them from completing transactions with descriptions mentioning Palestine-related keywords.

Venmo’s customer support inquired about a $50 payment one user received that included the description “Emergency Palestinian Relief Fund,” according to a screenshot the user tweeted.

Venmo said it was “trying to understand… the reference to ‘Palestinian Relief Fund” as well as the “purpose of this payment, including a complete and detailed explanation of what is intended to be paid for and the establishment/location,” according to the screenshot.

Venmo told Insider it was looking into the matter, which it said relates to its obligations under US sanctions laws.

“Venmo takes its regulatory and compliance obligations seriously, including adherence to U.S. economic and trade sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control,” a Venmo spokesperson told Insider, pointing to a blog post about the company’s review process.

That post says Venmo attempts to update users about the status of their payments within 72 hours.

“We strive to balance these obligations with the urgency of our users desire to send humanitarian aid. We understand the importance of these transactions and apologize for any delay that may occur as we work to quickly process payments in compliance with applicable law,” the spokesperson added.

Venmo declined to provide details about what specifically led the company to initiate these reviews, citing security concerns.

A search of OFAC’s sanctions list shows sanctions against groups such as “Palestinian Relief Fund,” “Palestine Development and Relief Fund,” and “Palestinian Relief Society,” as well as Hamas.

But other non-sanctioned groups seem to be getting caught up in Venmo’s automated filters.

A Twitter account affiliated with the Students for Justice in Palestine’s local chapter at the University of Illinois at Chicago instructed potential donors to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, a legitimate charity, to use the acronym PCRF, saying Venmo appeared to be blocking transactions mentioning the charity’s full name. (PCRF couldn’t immediately be reached for comment).

Various campaigns have sought to raise funds for Palestinians in recent days amid escalating violence in Gaza that has left at least 200 Palestinians and 10 Israelis dead.

Around 600 airstrikes by Israeli forces, many targeting residential homes, have inflicted dozens of civilian casualties, prompting criticism from human rights groups such as Amnesty International, which said the raids “may amount to war crimes.” Hamas has fired back some 1,600 rockets, around 90% of which have been blocked by Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile defense system.

On foreign policy matters, the US has historically sided with Israel, which it considers an ally, though some Democratic leaders recently sought to block Biden’s recent approval of a $735 million deal to sell weapons to the country.

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Joe Biden’s Venmo account was discovered by reporters in ‘less than 10 minutes’

Biden
President Joe Biden.

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President Joe Biden’s Venmo account was discovered after just a few minutes of searching, Buzzfeed News reported on Friday.

The transactions on the account were set to private, but it was reportedly linked to Biden’s family members.

Venmo accounts by default display connections, or “friends.” Accounts for Biden’s children and grandchildren were among those connected to the president’s account, according to Buzzfeed. The account had a handful of connections.

The search for Biden’s account began after The New York Times on Friday published an inside look at Biden’s time in the White House. The story said: “One advisor said he had sent the grandchildren money using Venmo.”

With that info in hand, it took “less than 10 minutes” to find Biden’s account, Buzzfeed said. Accounts linked to Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden were removed following the report, according to the outlet.

In a statement to Buzzfeed, a Venmo spokesperson said: “The safety and privacy of all Venmo users and their information is always a top priority, and we take this responsibility very seriously. Customers always have the ability to make their transactions private and determine their own privacy settings in the app. We’re consistently evolving and strengthening the privacy measures for all Venmo users to continue to provide a safe, secure place to send and spend money.”

Venmo has been in the political spotlight recently after Joel Greenberg, an ally of Rep. Matt Gaetz, reportedly made more than 150 payments via Venmo to dozens of women, as well as a 17-year-old girl. In one instance, Gaetz reportedly sent $900 to Greenberg.

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How to cancel a Venmo payment if you paid an inactive account, or request money back if you paid the wrong person

friends at dinner looking at phones making payments
Venmo doesn’t let you cancel any payment you make – in most situations, you need to request your money back from the person.

Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images

  • You can only cancel a Venmo payment if you paid someone with an inactive account.
  • If you paid the wrong person or the wrong amount, you can’t cancel the payment, but you can request your money back.
  • If the person you mistakenly paid doesn’t send your money back, you can contact Venmo support for assistance.
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Venmo doesn’t include the option to cancel a payment if you paid the wrong person or sent the wrong amount.

Without the ability to simply cancel a payment, all you can do is request your money back from the person, and hope they return it. If they don’t return it, you can contact Venmo support, though Venmo doesn’t guarantee you’ll get your money back.

However, if you sent money to a phone number or email address without an active Venmo account, you can use the “Take back” option to retrieve your money.

Here’s everything you need to know about getting your money back.

There’s a limit on your Venmo transactions – here’s how much money you can send and receive with each account typeHow to receive money on Venmo and transfer funds to a connected bank accountHow to set up a PayPal account and link a bank account or credit card‘Does Venmo work internationally?’: No, you must be physically located in the US – here’s what you need to know

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