Frank Figliuzzi, who was a former assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, talked about the possibility that Trump would have to repay his donors for money collected under false pretenses. Via Newsweek:
"This isn't over yet. When you raise millions based on a fraudulent claim, you've committed a crime. And, you just might have to give those millions back," Figliuzzi wrote.
The article by Politico journalists Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle Cheney detailed how special counsel Jack Smith's investigation of Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election is ongoing. One detail they focused on was how Smith has reportedly been looking at the large amount of money raised by Trump's Save America PAC between the November 2020 election and the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
"Restitution (paying back victims of fraud or money laundering) is a common remedy," Figliuzzi told Newsweek in an email. "For example, the founder of 'We Build the Wall' foundation was sentenced in his deceiving donors into believing that all their donations would go into building a border wall. His federal sentencing included $25M in restitution."
