Donald Trump fans were encouraged to buy a President’s Christmas card at Christmas time. The money should never reach Trump, however.
Washington – The acronym PAC stands for Political Action Committee and denotes organizations that collect donations to support candidates in the American election campaign. PACs are commonplace during the US presidential election. Donald Trump also founded a so-called Super-PAC after his impeachment in order to receive even more donations to support him in the US mid-term election in 2022. A 34-year-old Texan showed how the PAC system can be used.
Matthew Tunstall and two other people reportedly raised about $ 3.5 million in donations during the 2016 presidential campaign that they put in their own pockets. Using automated phone calls, the three men pretended to raise money for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The United States Department of Justice reported this case. Over the years, Tunstall and his colleagues have repeatedly founded new fake PACs. The Texan was only caught in November 2021. At this point there was already a new call for donations: “Donald Trump sends Christmas greetings”.
Donald Trump wishes a Merry Christmas: people are being ripped off
In 2019 Tunstall started its “Campaign to Support the President”. By the time he was imprisoned on November 9, 2021, more than 128,000 fake phone calls had been made to raise funds. The phone campaign continued until November 30th and had made 166,000 calls by the end of the day.
“On behalf of the entire Trump family, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a very, very Happy New Year,” said an artificially generated voice from Donald Trump at the fake calls in November. Afterwards, listeners were asked to donate $ 35. “President Trump wants everyone to celebrate Christmas and the holidays – including you. […] Get your Trump Family Christmas Card for at least US $ 35. “
Donation scam: fake calls will continue
With the imprisonment of the 34-year-old Texan, one of the biggest “robocall” scandals in the USA ends. Tunstall’s Trump campaign has now been put on hold. According to research by the news broadcaster CNN, the numbers used for the fake calls have been “disconnected” from the network. Founded in 2019, PAC grossed an estimated $ 193,000. No money raised by the group went directly to Trump or his campaign.
Aaron Foss is the founder of the so-called NoMoRobo app and a specialist in fake calls, as operated by Tunstall. Even after the fraudster’s arrest, the expert is skeptical: “It’s a continuous cat-and-mouse game. We are already seeing copycats sending similar messages [like Tunstall]. As long as people fall for this type of fraud, it will go on and on. “(Aa)
