MIAMI (AP) — A government watchdog group is asking federal regulators to investigate a $500,000 contribution to a super PAC backing Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s presidential bid, citing possible campaign finance laws violations.
The nonpartisan group Campaign Legal Center said it filed the complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday. The complaint says the business PassionForest, LLC, which sells artificial flowers on Amazon.com, did not have the financial means to make such a large contribution and was instead used to hide the identities of the true contributors to the political action committee America for Everyone, now called SOS America.
Campaign Legal Center also says the artificial flower shop accused in the scheme filed a trademark application listing a Chinese address and the seller information listed by Amazon.com shows a ZIP code in Shenzhen, in southeastern China. The group says the scheme could have been meant to hide foreign contributions, which are prohibited.
The super PAC said the complaint is an attack “intended to undercut the only Hispanic Republican candidate.”
“It is our understanding that the complaint makes no accusations whatsoever against SOS America PAC or the Mayor. This is nothing more than a political attack and it will be seen for what it is,” said SOS America PAC spokesperson Chapin Fay.
Suarez is one of the long shots running for the 2024 GOP nomination. The mayor is among the lesser-known candidates in a crowded field that include two other Floridians, former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The flower shop’s Amazon storefront shows almost all of its products unavailable with a few options left in stock, and its trademark application was abandoned six days after the contribution was made.
The $500,000 contribution is among the largest listed as received by the super PAC, according to FEC records.
“Voters have a right to know who is spending money to influence their votes and our government,” said Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at Campaign Legal Center.