"The most consistent and smartest thinking and writing about progressive politics isn't happening in Sacramento, but being churned out day after day on sites and by organizations like Calitics, Orange County Progressive, and the California Budget Project." - CalBuzz
Oh my! DPOC Chairman Frank Barbaro has just sent another letter to Rep. John Campbell (R-Just Say No), asking him to return the tainted Harkey money he accepted in campaign contributions. But is he listening? I guess we'll soon find out.
I'm sure you've all heard the news by now. Our favorite beard growing, stimulus hating, still voting radical right in a district Obama carried, Congressman John Campbell may be in some serious trouble. Money trouble. Diane Harkey trouble. He took over $10,000 in contributions from Dan & Diane Harkey, but he must not have imagined the price he would later pay for that money.
Well, let's examine that price John Campbell may pay. Let's see all the scandal Diane Harkey caused that John Campbell just wasn't paying attention to. Hey, I didn't do all that investigating of our favorite South County Assemblywoman and the many skeletons in her closet for nothing!
In an interesting piece of political theater, the Orange County Democratic Party is calling on John Campbell to return political contributions from Diane Harkey.
The Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) is calling on Congressman John Campbell (R-CA 48th) to publicly return all campaign funds given by Assemblymember Diane Harkey (R-CA 73rd) and her husband Dan Harkey, president of the embattled Point Center Financial.
Dan Harkey and Point Center Financial are being sued by 53 of their investors for fraud and running a "Ponzi scheme." He is currently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and being sued in Riverside County for racketeering, fraud, and intentional misrepresentation. Assemblymember Diane Harkey is listed as a defendant because the lawsuit alleges that Dan Harkey illegally transferred funds from investors to Diane Harkey for political purposes. Public documents show her as an employee of the company.
The Orange County Register reports that the lawsuit filed against the Harkeys on November 6, 2008 alleges that Dan Harkey exaggerated the value of property and was able "to make millions by collecting his fees upfront" which allowed him to profit from the loans even if they went unpaid. The Register also reports that the investors' lawsuit claims that 85% of Point Center's loans have either defaulted or been foreclosed.
"The Harkeys' combined contributions to Congressman Campbell from 2004 to 2008 totals $10,491," said DPOC Chairman Frank Barbaro, "under these questionable circumstances, the Harkeys' contributions to Congressman Campbell can hardly be considered legitimate and should be publicly returned immediately."
Yikes. It looks like South County's infamous "Congressman No" may be in some deep trouble. This just in from the DPOC.
Democratic Party of Orange County Calls on Congressman John Campbell to Return Campaign Funds Donated by the Harkeys
Santa Ana, CA - March 24, 2009
The Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) is calling on Congressman John Campbell (R-CA 48th) to publicly return all campaign funds given by Assemblymember Diane Harkey (R-CA 73rd) and her husband Dan Harkey, president of the embattled Point Center Financial.
Dan Harkey and Point Center Financial are being sued by 53 of their investors for fraud and running a "Ponzi scheme." He is currently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and being sued in Riverside County for racketeering, fraud, and intentional misrepresentation. Assemblymember Diane Harkey is listed as a defendant because the lawsuit alleges that Dan Harkey illegally transferred funds from investors to Diane Harkey for political purposes. Public documents show her as an employee of the company.
Here's the money quote in the LA Times story about Diane Harkey's husband's ventures.
The developers, brothers Paul and Richard Ehline, personally guaranteed the loan, according to the Point Center summary. The summary advertised an "estimated minimum" return of 23.5%.
It sounded like a good opportunity to Carlsbad Realtor Jim Haiduck, who said he invested $200,000 in the project based on assurances by Harkey's staff that nearly all approvals had been secured
.
Excuse me if I don't have a lot of sympathy for investors who don't understand that there is a strong correlation between risk and return. Only a Realtor would believe that a 23.5% minimum return wasn't just a little high.
