Legal Filings

Legal Filings

CREW Asks SC AG to Investigate Whether Alvin Greene Was Induced to Run and Files Complaint with FEC

Washington, D.C. - Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), took two significant actions against the questionable Democratic candidate for South Carolina Senate, Alvin Greene. In a letter to South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, CREW asked for an investigation into whether Mr. Greene was induced to run for the Senate in violation of South Carolina law.

CREW also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that primary-winner Greene and three other candidates in the June 8, 2010 Democratic primary in South Carolina: Gregory Brown, Ben Frasier and Brian Doyle and their campaign committees, violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and FEC regulations by failing to file mandatory disclosure reports prior to the election.

Melanie Sloan, CREW's Executive Director, said “The people of South Carolina have a right to fair, transparent and fraud-free elections. Paying candidates to run for office and concealing the sources of campaign funds undermines the integrity of the electoral process and threatens our democracy.”

The inducement to run complaint stems from questions regarding Mr. Greene’s ability to pay the filing fee for his candidacy. Mr. Greene originally attempted to pay the $10,440 filing fee with a personal check, which the South Carolina Democratic Party rejected. He returned later that same day, March 16, 2010, with a check with the name “Alvin M. Greene for Senate” handwritten as payor. Mr. Greene claims the funds came from a personal savings account, but has refused to provide documentation of the account.

Mr. Greene was discharged from the Army in August 2009, is currently unemployed and lives with his father. In addition, when Mr. Greene was charged with obscenity in November 2009 for showing pornography to a University of South Carolina student, he was assigned a public defender, a service normally provided only to indigent defendants.

CREW’s complaint to the FEC alleges Mr. Greene failed to file a Statement of Candidacy and that his campaign committee, Alvin M. Greene for Senate, failed to file a Statement of Organization as well as the April 15th and 12-Day Pre-Primary reports. These reports would have disclosed the campaign's contributions and expenditures leading up to the June 8, 2010 primary.

The complaint also alleges that Gregory Brown, Ben Frasier and Brian Doyle and their campaign committees also violated the FECA and FEC regulations by failing to file the April 15th Quarterly Report and 12-Day Pre-Primary Reports when they were due.

CREW asked the FEC to refer any knowing and willful violations to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.