CLC Alleges Former Rep. Gaetz’s Campaign Misreported Disbursements to Payment Processor

On November 19, 2024, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that former Rep. Matt Gaetz and his 2024 congressional campaign committee, Friends of Matt Gaetz, violated federal reporting requirements. During the 2024 cycle, Gaetz’s campaign reported paying Stripe, a payment processing vendor, over $1.2 million for “e-merchant fees” — an amount more than any other federal candidate or committee, including nationwide fundraising committees that raised hundreds of millions of dollars more than Gaetz’s campaign, reported paying Stripe in the 2024 cycle. As such, CLC alleges that Friends of Matt Gaetz has misreported the recipients or purposes of these payments, violating federal laws that require campaigns to disclose their disbursements completely and accurately.