Finchem Refers DNC’s Alleged $164M ‘Magic Mortgage’ Scheme to DOJ

Arizona State Senator Mark Finchem, Executive Director of the Election Fairness Institute (EFI), took center stage in a sweeping investigation that could reshape the conversation on campaign finance integrity. EFI referred what it describes as a $164 million money-laundering operation tied to ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s leading fundraising platform, to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

The research, compiled over 15 years, began when EFI Senior Analyst Shawn Taylor identified 422 identical contributions made through ActBlue on June 30, 2023. The contributions were split between Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones and Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost, with many donor records showing invalid addresses and phone numbers.

EFI’s deeper probe pointed to phantom real-estate sales in California and Texas, including properties sold multiple times on the same day with massive spikes in value. One Daly City, CA, property jumped from $600,000 to $60 million in a single day; a Dallas home sold for $303,240 and then $30.3 million the same day.

“With the available data gleaned from public records and the number of occurrences of massive property value inflation, it is unrealistic to think that we are observing an outbreak of Scribner’s errors,” EFI stated in a press release. The net total of suspect transactions: $164,217,000. EFI found that the timing of these inflated property deals consistently aligned with major election cycles.

“The significant transactions all commence at the beginning of major election cycles, with funding going to ActBlue to influence federal elections. And… it breaches the guardrails and safeguards that the McCain-Feingold Act was intended to put an end to,” EFI concluded.

The group also raised alarms about possible foreign involvement. “The likelihood that this operation is tied to BRICS is high due to the substantial amount of cash involved, which is essentially bulk cash smuggling,” they added.

As EFI’s Executive Director, Finchem has been the face of the referral. He confirmed that the Institute’s findings were formally delivered to the DOJ, drawing interest from multiple U.S. Attorneys across the country. On August 1, 2025, Finchem appeared on Newsmax, describing the “magic mortgage” scheme as a “systematic campaign finance attack” and warning that it may involve foreign actors aligned with BRICS nations. He has since taken to radio and television outlets to emphasize that EFI’s research is not partisan, but about exposing flaws in U.S. election finance safeguards.

“This isn’t about left or right — it’s about protecting the integrity of American elections from massive cash schemes that bypass our laws,” Finchem told media outlets.

The Department of Justice, IRS, FEC, and Treasury could all be drawn into the matter if the findings advance into a formal investigation, per documents. EFI argues that the scheme represents violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, and existing campaign finance laws.

EFI’s full release concluded with a warning, stating, “Our findings highlight vulnerabilities in election finance transparency and integrity… Such defects cut across all political lines and get to the heart of the ‘Equal Protection’ clause of the Fourteenth Amendment for every American citizen.”

https://t.co/jDeUcDkwzV

— Senator Mark Finchem (@RealMarkFinchem) August 12, 2025