Global Courant
Democratic presidential nominee Marianne Williamson’s new campaign manager has previously been charged with financial fraud for allegedly using organization money for personal expenses.
The new campaign manager, Roza Calderon, was accused by the Placer Women Democrats in 2017 of spending nearly $1,900 from the organization’s bank account on multiple personal expenses, including one instance where the manager allegedly spent money from the organization on tickets to a concert, according to a report from Politico Thursday.
The group alleges that Calderon, who served as a volunteer treasurer at the time and had access to the organization’s online accounting and credit card, used the credit card not only for the concert tickets, but also for personal expenses such as gas and movies. to download.
2024 HOPEFUL MARIANNE WILLIAMSON BLOWS BIDEN, DNC FOR NOT HOLDING DEBATES: ‘CANDIDATE SUPPRESSION’
Marianne Williamson addresses the crowd as she launches her 2024 presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The Placer Women Democrats eventually filed a police report against Calderon, who was also running a failed campaign for the U.S. House in California’s 4th district at the time, while former treasurer, Sharleen Finn, alleged that Calderon attempted to delete internal files to cover up the fraud.
“When confronted,[her response]first went into denial. And then later, when the evidence came out in terms of receipts and things people had collected, she said she’d pay it back,” Kathleen Crawford, who now is chairman of the Placer County Democratic Central Committee and was involved with the organization at the time of the alleged fraud, Politico said.
When asked about Calderon’s new role with the Williamson campaign, Crawford said she hopes Calderon has been aware of the rules since then.
“I hope Roza has learned lessons and she has a professional accounting firm and has learned the rules,” Crawford told Politico.
Marianne Williamson speaking at SXSW Conference and Festivals on March 14, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Mike Jordan/Getty Images for SXSW)
HUGE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS OPPOSE BIDEN’S RE-EXECUTION, POINTING OUT A ‘MAJOR’ FACTOR: POLL
Crawford said the group would normally only raise $5,000 to $10,000 for an entire election cycle, making any misuse of the funds a major problem.
Calderon eventually returned $1,900 to the organization after confronting the issue, but has denied the allegation of fraud against local news outlets.
The case was settled in court in 2019, with a judge ordering Calderon to write a letter of apology to the Placer Women Democrats and barring her from holding positions “of trust” for older or dependent adults.
The Williamson campaign, reached for comment by Fox News Digital, argued that the issue has been “set aside and dismissed by the Superior Court of Placer County.”
ACTOR JAMES VAN DER BEEK BASHES DNC FOR REFUSAL TO HOLD BIDEN DEBATE: ‘HOW IS THIS A DEMOCRACY?’
“Once again we are forced to respond to an apparently political ‘hit’ piece about newly appointed campaign manager, Roza Calderon, and refuted allegations approved several years ago,” the campaign said in a statement.
“These ongoing attacks on the Marianne Williamson campaign are another attempt to diminish the importance of her second term as president and now the corporate media establishment is waging war against campaign staffers.,” continued the statement. “We are confident in Roza Calderon’s leadership skills and are pleased to have her on board to lead this campaign to victory.”
Marianne Williamson gets her second shot at the presidency. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Calderon is also accused of embellishing her experience before joining the Williamson campaign, falsely claiming on Linkedin that she served as development director for the progressive nonprofit Our Revolution from December 2022 to April 2023. However, a spokesperson for the organization told Politico that Calderon only served as a contract fundraiser.
“Ms. Calderon was never an employee of Our Revolution, nor was she authorized to represent herself as the organization’s development or finance director,” an Our Revolution spokesperson told Politico.
Michael Lee is a writer at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @UAMichaelLee
