Department of Justice Seal Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2004
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
CRM
(202) 514-2008
TDD (202) 514-1888

FORMER AIDE SENTENCED FOR EMBEZZLEMENT FROM SENATOR ELIZABETH DOLE’S CAMPAIGN


WASHINGTON, D.C. - Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray of the Criminal Division announced today that Earl Allen Haywood, former Assistant Treasurer for campaign committees associated with North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole’s 2002 senatorial campaign, was sentenced to 18 months in prison today on a charge of mail fraud.

Haywood, 40, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty to the mail fraud charge, a felony violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341 on March 17, 2004. In addition to the 18-month prison sentence, the Honorable Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia also sentenced Haywood to three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $174,725 in restitution.

The charges against Haywood stem from his role in Dole’s 2002 senatorial campaign. During his March 17 guilty plea, Haywood admitted to stealing approximately $174,725 from the Dole campaign through several schemes. From early 2002 through mid-2003, Haywood served as an Assistant Treasurer for The Dole North Carolina Victory Committee, Inc. (“the Dole Victory Committee”), a campaign committee that raised money for both the Elizabeth Dole for U.S. Senate Committee, Inc., and the North Carolina Republican Party. During the same time period, he also served as the Assistant Treasurer for North Carolina’s Salute to George W. Bush Committee, Inc. (“the Salute Committee”), which raised money for three entities: Elizabeth Dole for U.S. Senate Committee, Inc., the North Carolina Republican Party, and Robin Hayes for Congress.

In his capacity as Assistant Treasurer for these committees, Haywood was responsible for, among other things, collecting and recording political contributions to the committees, depositing the funds in the appropriate bank accounts, accounting for funds received by the committees, tracking all disbursements from the committees, and reporting this information to the Federal Election Commission in accordance with its rules and regulations.

While serving as Assistant Treasurer, Haywood stole approximately $155,750 from the Dole Victory Committee account, and $18,975 from the Salute Committee account. He accomplished this theft by writing checks from the campaign committee accounts and naming himself as the payee. These payments were not authorized by members of the campaign or committee. Haywood did not report these payments to the FEC on the pertinent forms that he prepared. Rather, he deposited these checks into his own personal account and used the funds for his personal benefit. Among other means, Haywood attempted to conceal this fraud by labeling many of the checks in the check registry as having been used for “postage” for official committee business.

The case is being prosecuted by trial attorney Joshua G. Berman of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division, headed by Section Chief Noel Hillman, and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Division.

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