An 80-year-old Texas man with an engineering degree had spent decades saving for his retirement years, but because of dementia, he helped political campaigns with more and more donations.
In less than two years, the man became one of the largest small-money supporters of the Republican Party in the country.
Finally, he transferred nearly half a million dollars to former President Donald Trump and others. the Your savings account is practically empty – Launched CNN investigative material, showcasing donation drives that benefit seniors. The Texas man's son spent weeks trying to get his father's money back from WinRed, which funds Republican candidates.
However, by June 2024, he was only able to receive one-third compensation.
The 52 elderly donors contacted by the news channel, many of whom have dementia, have donated more than $6 million to political campaigns voluntarily.
According to CNN, the strategy of the campaign organizations is as follows:
- A single donation triggers a flurry of texts and emails Urgent and apparently direct personal requests from candidates. There was a lonely old man She thought she was communicating with Donald Trump himself, and the former president invited her to a private reception.
The victim was already planning her trip to the politician's house when she did not understand why Donald Trump Jr. was not answering her phone.
- Messages arrive at a relentless pace They direct donors to websites where they can force them to make monthly or even weekly transfers without their knowledgewhere this is only indicated in lowercase letters, or the normal reference is marked beforehand, which is difficult to notice.
- Inviting yourself to panels or focus groups that don't exist is another common tactic. According to experts who spoke to CNN, this is used to make targeted people feel special, which can have a greater impact on people who are more socially isolated.
Matthew Hurt, The chairman of the Arlington County Republican Committee believes such aggressive fundraising tactics are short-sighted and will turn off voters in the long run.
We don't need to trick people into giving money to our candidates and causes. […] Any platform that tricks seniors into unwittingly donating money sounds like a scam to me
Hurt thought.
Both WinRed and the Democrats' ActBlue said they would notify donors of duplicate referrals. According to ActBlue, their staff will make every effort to process refund requests after the standard 90-day refund period. Meanwhile, WinRed's website says they will “gladly refund any donations made in error,” but note that this only applies to transfers made in the last 60 days.
The cover image is an illustration. Cover image source: Portfolio
