CLC Alleges Straw Donor Scheme Funneled $500,000 to Pro-Suarez Super PAC

On July 25, 2023, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that in October 2022, unknown persons used an obscure entity called PassionForest, LLC (“PassionForest”) to funnel a $500,000 contribution to a super PAC, SOS America PAC, which has spent over $3 million, to date, backing the 2024 presidential campaign of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. During the eleven-month period from its organization to the date of the contribution, PassionForest’s only known activity was selling artificial flowers on Amazon.com, supporting the conclusion that it could not have made a $500,000 contribution without someone else – the true contributor – providing it with funds for that purpose. CLC’s complaint noted, further, that both PassionForest’s Amazon.com seller profile and a related trademark application suggest that the unknown true contributors may be based in China, raising the specter that this straw donor scheme was used to conceal illegal foreign national contributions.