# Ileana Ros-Lehtinen under federal investigation for alleged violations in the use of campaign funds

**Date:** 09/25/2020

The former Republican congresswoman and Cuban-American, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, is under federal investigation for alleged misuse of campaign funds for personal use.

Ros-Lehtinen, the first Hispanic woman to reach the federal House of Representatives where she served from 1989 to 2019, was supposed to turn over any leftover money from her campaign funds to a political committee. The former congresswoman did so but, apparently, only partially. An amount that has still not been accounted for was apparently used in restaurants, vacations, and personal purchases, according to several local media outlets, including the CBS affiliate in South Florida.

The investigation is being conducted by the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice, which did not want to give extensive explanations since the investigation is still open and has only confirmed its existence.

Ros-Lehtinen announced in April 2017 that she would not seek reelection the following year and transferred almost $180,000 from her reelection campaign to the political action committee she directed. Although this is not unusual, the personal use of campaign funds is illegal under federal law, even if they have been transferred to a PAC (political action committee).

However, the PAC's expense statements showed the use of almost $4,000 on a trip to DisneyWorld in Orlando with her children and grandchildren in December 2017. Apparently she also spent $3,100 at the seafood restaurant in Coral Gables MesaMar in Miami on New Year's Eve 2018.

The nonpartisan watchdog group Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against the former congresswoman in October 2019, saying that the PAC appeared to have violated federal law by "converting contributions for personal use, including a family trip to Disney World and tens of thousands of dollars in luxury hotel expenses, none of which has an apparent connection to the candidacy or duties of Representative Ros-Lehtinen as a public official."