Former Florida Congressman Avoids $456K Fine Over Electoral Campaign Finance

Republican Congressional candidate David Rivera is greeted by supporters as he campaigns at an early voting site in Miami on October 20, 2010. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A Florida appeals court has dismissed a lower court’s ruling that a former Florida Republican congressman attempted to weaken an election opponent in 2012 in violation of campaign finance laws. It’s now up to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) if it wants to retry the case.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 1 that a Florida district judge erred in siding with the FEC in a complaint against David Rivera, who served as a congressman from 2011 to 2013 representing Florida’s 25th congressional district.

The appeals court said Mr. Rivera’s denial of the allegations should have been regarded as significant because the district court can’t issue a summary judgment if the defendant has made statements contrary to the claims.

In 2022, the now-deceased Florida District Judge Marcia Cooke issued a summary judgment finding that David Rivera was guilty of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and must pay a civil penalty of $456,000.

The FEC filed the initial complaint in 2017 alleging that Mr. Rivera “engaged in a scheme to secretly provide more than $69,000 in direct and in-kind contributions” to congressional candidate Justin Sternad, who was running against Mr. Rivera’s opponent Joe Garcia, in the 2012 Democratic Party primary.

Mr. Rivera ultimately lost his bid for reelection to Mr. Garcia. Mr. Rivera allegedly relied on political consultant Ana Alliegro to carry out the scheme, according to the complaint.

Mr. Rivera has not been criminally charged.

Both Mr. Sternad and Ms. Alliegro later pleaded guilty to criminal charges.

Mr. Sternad was sentenced to seven months in prison for violating the FECA after pleading guilty to making false statements to the FEC and accepting illegal campaign donations.

Ms. Alliegro was sentenced to six months in prison, six months of house arrest, and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to make false statements to the FEC and making illegal campaign donations.

FECA

The FECA prohibits donors from making contributions in the name of others, the appeals court said.

The investigation spanned several years. The FEC filed its first complaint in July 2017, but it was “dismissed for failure to state a claim,” the appeals court said.

In 2019, it filed an amended complaint, specifying its allegation that Mr. Rivera made contributions to Mr. Sternad’s primary campaign in others’ names.

“On August 10, 2020, the FEC moved for summary judgment, arguing that undisputed evidence establishes that Rivera violated the FECA,” the appeals court said. “The district court granted the motion on February 23, 2021, and followed with a final judgment issuing a civil penalty against Rivera in the amount of $456,000, or approximately 600 percent of the amount attributed to his violation.”

‘Genuine Dispute’

Mr. Rivera appealed the district court’s ruling, which included a permanent injunction that barred him from making future campaign donations, the appeals court said.

Upon review of the district court’s ruling, the appeals court found that summary judgment can be granted only if there is no “genuine dispute as to the material fact.”

“Rivera argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment because there was a genuine issue of material fact regarding questions that should be resolved by a jury,” the appeals court said.

The district court relied on the testimony of others and disregarded Mr Rivera’s 2020 deposition in which he denied the allegations, stating, “At no time did I ever serve as the source of money or provide in-kind contributions to the Sternad election campaign.”

The appeals court remanded the case back to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida where the parties could face off for a second time if pursued by the FEC.

In response to a request for comment, Mr. Rivera’s attorney, Thomas Hunker from Hunker Paxton Appeals & Trials, told The Epoch Times, “The 11th Circuit vacated the judgment against Congressman Rivera because the Federal Election Commission did not have the evidence to prove its allegations. The FEC’s case against Congressman Rivera remains meritless and the judgment against him was properly discarded.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the FEC for comment.