Free Republic

Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee pleaded guilty this morning to defrauding her clients of at least $7 million, bringing to a close a case that one official has called the "most extensive campaign treasurer fraud in the history of California." Durkee entered guilty pleas to five counts of mail fraud at the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse in Sacramento this morning before U.S. District Judge Kimberly J Mueller. Federal prosecutors say the veteran campaign treasurer misappropriated money from the accounts of at least 50 clients, including Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Durkee, 59, remains free pending sentencing on June 20....

Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors say in a court filing that Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee defrauded at least 50 candidates, officeholders and political organizations out of $7 million in a scheme that dates back more than a decade. The U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento filed the new charges in federal court late Tuesday, providing the most detailed account to date in a case that has left some Democratic candidates scrambling for campaign cash in an election year.

Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee is expected to plead guilty to stealing millions from the accounts she controlled for her California political clients, according to two sources close to the case. The news came as the U.S. attorney's office filed fresh charges against the veteran Democratic treasurer, who was arrested last fall. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney in Sacramento could not confirm whether Durkee is expected to enter a plea, but said the filing of such documents typically indicates that plea negotiations are in the works. The 17-page complaint, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Stunning accusations that a top California Democratic campaign treasurer looted the war chests of her big-name clients have left candidates across the state scrambling to raise more money as election season looms. Kinde Durkee, who controlled the funds of roughly 400 candidates and groups, ranging from Senator Dianne Feinstein to local Democratic youth clubs, was arrested in September and charged with fraud. While the extent of the losses isn't yet clear, the coffers of dozens of Democratic politicians have been frozen, prompting the crippled campaigns to ask the California Fair Political Practices Commission to permit further...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Attorneys for Democratic candidates and committees trying to recover from an alleged embezzlement scheme appealed Friday to California's political watchdog agency to relax financial reporting rules temporarily and waive some contribution limits. The attorneys appeared before a meeting of the Fair Political Practices Commission in Sacramento as it considered options for candidates whose campaign accounts evaporated in the scandal involving longtime Democratic treasurer Kinde Durkee.

Reporting from Washington and Sacramento— A suspected embezzlement scheme that has ensnared hundreds of campaign accounts of Democrats has sent candidates scrambling for new cash as they prepare for an election season that could reshape California's political landscape. Just when they need to start hiring staff and commissioning polls, many candidates have no idea how much might have been taken from them or how much they have left, and they cannot find out: As many as 400 political accounts have been frozen by the banks holding the funds since the Sept. 2 arrest of treasurer Kinde Durkee. This January 2008...

LOS ANGELES—Accusations that a campaign treasurer stole more than $1 million from Democratic candidates across California have jolted the party on the eve of the 2012 campaign season. Kinde Durkee was arrested Sept. 2 and accused by federal authorities of stealing campaign funds and using the money to pay for an array of personal expenses, including mortgage payments, cosmetics and nursing-home care for her mother. Based in Burbank, Calif., the 58-year-old had long managed money for scores of Democratic campaigns. According to the federal criminal complaint, Ms. Durkee "misappropriated money from her clients' bank accounts and filed false disclosure reports...

Dianne Feinstein told Politico that her campaign was "wiped out" by Democratic political operative Kinde Durkee, whom the FBI arrested last week. DiFi explained that Durkee worked on her 1992, 1994 and 2006 campaign. And: "I trusted her implicitly." Worse: Feinstein said she and her campaign staff have been unable to access all their bank records at this point because Durkee alone controlled access to the account, which has made it difficult for them to assess how much money is gone. Two other similarly dissatisfied clients are California Democratic Reps. Susan Davis, who called Durkee "the Bernie Madoff of campaign...

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she was “wiped out” by Kinde Durkee, a well-connected California Democratic political operative who served as treasurer for hundreds of state, local and federal campaign committees.Durkee was arrested by the FBI on Sept. 2 on allegations of fraud surrounding the diversion of more than $670,000 from the reelection committee for a California state assemblyman, and a growing list of California Democrats, including Feinstein and Reps. Susan Davis and Loretta Sanchez, now appear to victims as well.“I was wiped out too, we don’t know how much,” said Feinstein, indicating the losses in campaign funds could run...

Many big-name Democratic politicians used the services of a top campaign treasurer even though she had a history of fines and investigation into how she used the funds of elected officials. Kinde Durkee was arrested on federal fraud charges this month, accused of taking thousands of dollars from the campaigns of various elected officials. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), a Durkee client, said her campaign fund was nearly cleaned out, and the Los Angeles County Democratic Party reported that more than $200,000 had been taken from its fund. Although many Democratic insiders said they were shocked by Durkee's arrest, it...

Is she a Pinhead or Patriot? You be the judge. I am talking about treasurer Kinde Durkee (and what "kinde" of name is that?) who embezzled the campaign funds of a number of CA Democrats to the extent of wiping out the money entirely, including that of Rep. Loretta Sanchez and others. Since Durkee has also been acting as treasurer for Senator Diane Feinstein there is a chance that part or all of DiFi's $5 million in campaign cash was wiped out. Most likely this money actually did serve a useful purpose in that it was pumped into the ailing...

Okay, here is a weekend fun challenge: Guess how much of Dianne Feinstein's campaign cash was stolen via embezzlement by her treasurer Kinde Durkee. We already know that Durkee WIPED OUT the campaign cash of Loretta Sanchez so it is hard to believe that she wouldn't have touched at least some of the $5 million of Di-Fi cash. This little BLURB from the L.A. Weekly doesn't make it look too good for Di-Fi: Feinstein's re-election campaign had about $5 million in the bank as of June 30, according to the disclosure forms Durkee submitted. Durkee has been accused of filing...

Allegations of fraud against a veteran California campaign treasurer have sent shock waves through the state’s Democratic congressional delegation, as lawmakers who used Kinde Durkee to keep track of their finances are now scrambling to find out whether their money has disappeared.While Durkee has not been formally charged at this point, she is in jail in California and has been accused in an FBI criminal complaint of trying to defraud a state representative out of $677,000. On top of that, California Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s office tells POLITICO that her campaign account, managed by Durkee, has been virtually emptied out.

Federal authorities have arrested an accountant who has served as treasurer on hundreds of political campaigns, the Ocean County Register reports. Kindee Durkee, whose clients have included Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) as well as state legislators and L.A. City Council members, is being held on mail fraud charges. Durkee is expected to make her first court appearance on Tuesday. The charge against her is reportedly related to her work with a member of the California assembly, but the full criminal complaint against her has not yet been posted. Durkee was arrested at the office of...

A CAMPAIGN treasurer for Democratic lawmakers in California -- including Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Loretta Sanchez -- was arrested by the FBI on suspicion of mail fraud, The Orange County Register reported. US Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said Kinde Durkee, of Durkee and Associates, was arrested by the FBI on a criminal complaint filed by the US Attorney's Office in Sacramento. KTLA-TV reported that the arrest took place in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank, where Durkee's office are located. FBI Special Agent Steve Dupre said Durkee's arrest was linked with her position as a campaign treasurer for...

There are multiple reports floating around and Ms. Durkee’s list of clients goes far beyond the couple of big ticket names provided above such as Feinstein and Sanchez. She also either represents or has previously represented The California Democratic Party, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, the Orange County Democratic Party and more. Also, while I wasn’t personally aware of her before this, it seems this isn’t the first time Kinde has been in trouble. The article lists past instances where her practice has been called in for questions and one investigative reporter in L.A. has apparently been waiting for...

Assemblyman Jose Solorio today told his constituents that he fell victim to alleged mail fraud by Burbank-based Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee, writing that the FBI contacted him Friday to break the news. According this Associated Press story, the FBI arrested Durkee Friday and she is expected at appear in court Tuesday. Under the headline "I've Been Robbed. The FBI Has Arrested My Treasurer," Solorio, D-Santa Ana, posted the following letter today: Dear Friends, I wanted to reach out to you directly with the facts regarding the recent arrest of Kinde Durkee, the person I trusted as my campaign treasurer....

The Orange County Register is reporting that federal authorities have arrested a Burbank-based campaign treasurer for a number of Democratic politicians, including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Garden Grove.

A prominent Democratic campaign treasurer who works for federal, state and O.C. lawmakers including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Rep. Loretta Sanchez and state Assemblymen Lou Correa and Jose Solorio has been arrested by the FBI on suspicion of mail fraud, The Orange County Register has learned. U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek confirmed Saturday afternoon that Kinde Durkee of Burbank-based Durkee and Associates, was arrested by the FBI on a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento. Special Agent Steve Dupre of the bureau’s Sacramento office said she was arrested in connection with her position as a...