Pending Settlement re: Personal Use of Campaign Funds by Menifee Mayor Scott Mann

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION                                                                  

October 14, 2016                                                                                                             

CONTACT:  

Jay Wierenga

FPPC Communications Director

(916) 322-7761

Scott Mann, the Mayor of Menifee, is entering into a proposed settlement, including a proposed penalty of $60,000, with the Enforcement Division of the Fair Political Practices Commission (“FPPC”). In the settlement, Mann admits to the personal use of campaign funds in the amount of $44,894. Of this amount, he has reimbursed $17,152 to his committees. He is also admitting to a campaign recordkeeping violation. Mann has consented to announcing the settlement prior to the November election.

Mann has agreed to pay the proposed penalty of $60,000 by December 1, 2016, so that the settlement may be presented to the FPPC Commissioners at the public meeting scheduled for December 15, 2016. Settlement of this case is subject to approval by a majority of the members of the FPPC.

Roughly one-half of the misused funds came from a bank account that was established for Mann’s 2010 city council committee. The other half came from an account that was established for Mann’s 2012 and 2014 mayoral committees. Most of the funds were ATM cash withdrawals or bank transfers from committee accounts to personal/family accounts. Generally, Mann did not report these expenditures on his committee campaign statements, and he failed to keep required records of the expenditures. These expenditures were unrelated to any political, legislative, or governmental purpose. The personal purposes for which Mann used these funds included personal vacation/travel/dining expenses, personal tax relief expenses, personal vehicle repair/registration expenses, and personal expenses related to a family wedding in Malibu. 

Under current law, penalties imposed for personal use of campaign funds may not be paid from campaign funds.

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