WHEELING, W.Va. — A Morgantown man was indicted Tuesday on campaign fraud charges after allegedly using employees of his company to make contributions to several federal campaigns.
James Laurita Jr. was indicted on multiple counts, including scheming to cause false statements to the Federal Election Commission; causing contributions in the name of another; causing excessive contributions; and causing false statement to the Federal Election Commission.
Laurita, the former president and CEO of mining and processing corporation Mepco, is also accused of creating a scheme to use employees and their spouses to make campaign contributions with company funds. The donations are believed to have occurred from March 2010 to July 2013.
The FBI has launched an investigation.