ARTICLE: From Dominic Rapini, “ActBlues: Singing the Money-Laundering Blues.”
“Money and corruption are ruining the land, crooked politicians betray the working man, pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep, and we’re tired of hearing promises that we know they’ll never keep.” - George Bernard Shaw
By Dominic Rapini, American Businessman and Political Commentator
How a Once-Mighty Fundraising Platform Landed in Hot Water—and How I Helped Turn Up the Heat
It’s official: ActBlue is having a worse year than the Chicago Bears. Once the crown jewel of Democratic fundraising, this progressive money machine is now drowning in allegations of money laundering, fraudulent donations, foreign interference, and general incompetence. If you listen closely, you can almost hear the sad trombone of campaign finance lawyers preparing their defense arguments.
From Blue Wave to Red Flags
For years, ActBlue has been the Democratic Party’s golden goose, funneling billions into campaigns while masquerading as a grassroots fundraising powerhouse. The pitch was simple: “Hey, just chip in $3 to save democracy!” And chip in people did—except, it turns out, some of those ‘people’ didn’t even know they were donating.
That’s where I come in.
As a former Republican candidate in Connecticut and a cybersecurity professional, I started noticing unusual donation patterns tied to ActBlue back in 2018. What kind of patterns, you ask? Oh, just 86-year-old retirees allegedly donating thousands of times, often at oddly precise intervals, as if their credit cards had been hooked up to a donation IV drip.
One Yale professor—sorry, Yalze (Yale was misspelled in FEC filings! ) professor, according to FEC filings—was recorded as making 2,132 donations totaling $75,000. Another elderly gentleman supposedly made 12,892 donations over 228 months—which, if true, suggests this guy was donating from beyond the grave, or close to it.
And it wasn’t just Democrats who were getting in on the action. A 72-year-old registered Republican from Madison, CT somehow managed to contribute $101,000 in a single year, 29 times more than in previous elections. Funny thing—nobody in Connecticut Republican circles had ever heard of her. Yes, WinRed was occasionally fishy too.
So I did what any reasonable person would do: I knocked on her door. Three different visits. No answer each time. Suspicious? You bet. In fact, I successfully knocked on 5 doors and engaged the would be donors. Each one (5) signed an affidavit attesting to the fact that donations I showed them were NO THEIR OWN!
Follow the (Possibly Laundered) Money
When we dug deeper, we found that ActBlue’s recurring small-dollar donations weren’t just unusual—they were perfectly engineered to skirt campaign finance laws.
Here’s how the scheme may have worked:
1️⃣ Mystery money enters the system—potentially from unaudited federal funds, foreign sources, or donors who didn’t know they were donating.
2️⃣ ActBlue breaks it up into thousands of micropayments under fake or unwitting donors’ names, keeping each transaction under $200 to avoid FEC reporting requirements.
3️⃣ ALLEGEDLY: The laundered money gets redirected into Democratic campaigns and activist groups, appearing as small, grassroots contributions.
4️⃣ When exposed, Democratic leadership pretends to know nothing.
Sound crazy? Maybe. But when $1.88 million is funneled through just 18 elderly donors in Connecticut alone, it raises a few mild concerns.
ActBlue’s Response: Running for the Exits
If ActBlue had nothing to hide, you’d think they’d be eager to clear their name. Instead, they’re acting like a Wall Street exec after the SEC shows up with subpoenas.
Since February 2025, at least seven senior officials have fled the company fasterthan a leprechaun escaping a tax audit. Meanwhile, ActBlue’s remaining legal counsel is accusing leadership of retaliation, labor unions are calling for independent investigations, and donors are starting to ask where, exactly, their money has been going.
The panic is so real that ActBlue has even canceled meetings with political strategists—the equivalent of a restaurant shutting down reservations right before the dinner rush.
And let’s not forget Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who has been eerily silent about the allegations. Funny, considering he’s been the loudest advocate for small-dollar donations—and his own FEC filings show donation patterns that look a little too perfect. (Murphy, buddy, people don’t donate four times a month, twice in the same day, unless they’re trying to meet their Starbucks Rewards quota.) See Graphic Below:
What Happens Next?
As the walls close in, Republicans are pressing for investigations at the federal and state levels. There’s talk of subpoenas, forensic audits, and even FBI involvement. If the allegations stick, ActBlue could be looking at serious legal consequences, massive fines, and—best case scenario—a complete overhaul of how online campaign fundraising works.
For the Democrats, this couldn’t come at a worse time. If ActBlue goes down, they lose their most powerful fundraising tool, leaving them scrambling to find a replacement cash pipeline before 2026.
Final Thoughts: The ActBlues Are Real
Look, I don’t take joy in seeing an entire political fundraising machine crash and burn. (Okay, maybe just a little.) But what I do take joy in is transparency, accountability, and exposing what looks like one of the biggest campaign finance scandals in recent history.
So the next time a politician asks for your “small-dollar donation to protect democracy,” maybe ask who’s really behind that transaction—and whether it’s coming from your credit card, some unsuspecting retiree, or a mystery bank account in Venezuela.
ActBlue is singing the blues—and I’m proud to have played a part in turning up the volume.
🚨 If you want to see the full research and data behind these findings, stay tuned. This story is just getting started. 🚨
Snapshot of Connecticut Donors
