NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Republican State Senator Brian Kelsey of Germantown and a Nashville social club owner have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of violating campaign finance laws, involving an alleged scheme to benefit Kelsey’s 2016 campaign for U.S. Congress.
Kelsey represents District 31.
According to court documents, Kelsey, 43 and club owner Joshua Smith, 44, were indicted Friday for conspiring to illegally funnel "soft money" from Kelsey's Tennessee State Senate campaign committee to his federal campaign committee.
"Soft money" is a contribution to a political party that is not accounted as going to a particular candidate, avoiding various legal limitations.
"The indictment alleges that Kelsey, Smith, and others orchestrated the concealed movement of $91,000 to a national political organization for the purpose of funding advertisements that urged voters to support Kelsey in the August 2016 primary election, and that the conspirators caused the political organization to make $80,000 worth of contributions to Kelsey’s federal campaign committee in the form of coordinated expenditures," the release said.
Kelsey and Smith are charged with conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission.
Kelsey is also charged with making excessive contributions to a federal campaign and accepting excessive contributions.
Both Kelsey and Smith are scheduled to appear in federal court on November 5 in Nashville.
If convicted, both could face up to five years in prison on each count.
The FBI is investigating the case.
