Top Obama Campaign Contributor Accused Of $650K Fraud
Barack Obama’s top campaign contributor, Abake Assongba, has been accused of impersonating a bank official in addition to defrauding a businessman. This news comes at a time when Obama’s re-election campaign is already preoccupied dealing with accusations against another top Obama supporter.
According to federal records, Abake Assongba and her husband, Anthony J.W. DeRosa, have donated over $50,000 to Obama’s campaign for re-election this year alone. While the big money New York donors are helping fund Obama’s bid for re-election, they’re also busy fending off a civil court case in the state of Florida in which Abake has been accused of stealing over $650,000. The money allegedly went towards building a multimillion dollar Florida home. DeRosa has denied his wife’s involvement in any wrongdoings pertaining to the allegations, however, he was unable to discuss specifics as the cases are currently pending.
Assongba and DeRosa run Abake’s Foundation, a charity which distributes food and school supplies in Africa, and yet Assongba has been accused of impersonating a bank official while perpetrating an e-mail scam. Allegedly, the proceeds from the e-mail scam were used to build the aforementioned multimillion dollar residential property in Florida. The accuser in the ongoing case is a Swiss businessman by the name of Klaus-Werner Pusch.
Records show Assongba was evicted in 2004 after failure to $5,000 in rent. Additionally, one of her former landlords has taken her to court for over $10,000 which the landlord claims is compensation for damages and back rent on an apartment she was renting.
Last month, Obama’s campaign returned $200,000 to Alberto and Carlos Cardona after a correlation was made between a third Cardona brother who is currently wanted on federal drug charges. While some of the top Obama campaign contributors have come under recent scrutiny, it should be noted that Obama is currently the only presidential contender who has a released a list of his bundlers. Bundlers is a reference to financiers who solicit large contributions from friends and associates before bundling the various contributions into a single campaign contribution of high value.
Assongba’s contributions in recent years have exceeded $70,000. The Obama Victory Fund received a $35,000 contribution from Abake and her husband Anthony contributed an additional $15,000.
Regardless of whether or not Obama’s campaign decides to return Assongba’s contributions, President Barack Obama has already managed to raise over $120 million for his re-election campaign, excluding the Democratic Party’s millions, which gives him a hefty lead over his Republican contenders.
Were Abake Assongba to be found guilty of fraud, do you think Obama’s campaign should return her campaign contributions?
Abake’s Foundation 2010 promotional video:
