Pro-Trump scam PAC operator hit with wire fraud charge

• The charges came despite former President Trump being more proactive than many politicians in disavowing groups that falsely implied campaign affiliations to lure unwitting donors.
• The charges were first reported by HuffPost.

What's new: The Justice Department accuses Bell, the man behind the Keep America Great Committee, of enlisting a digital fundraising firm to fraudulently appeal to Trump supporters to chip in on behalf of the Trump re-election effort.

• The Keep America Great Committee's ads, website, and online donation page were largely copied from those belonging to Trump and other legitimate political groups, The Daily Beast reported last year.
• None of the nearly $250,000 the KAGC raised actually went to supporting political candidates, prosecutors say. Instead, they say, Bell pocketed the money.
• While duping unwitting donors, prosecutors say, Bell was also filing fraudulent applications for coronavirus relief loans. Four of his companies received more than $1 million from the scheme, according to prosecutors.

The big picture: The Justice Department has cracked down in recent years on so-called scam PACs, or groups that do little but raise money and pay their own principals.

• Trump's presidency was a boon for such groups, but they're not confined to a particular candidate or political party.
• Prosecutors say Bell also set up an allegedly fraudulent pro-Biden group called the Best Days Lie Ahead Committee, which raised another $100,000.