Top Democrats Request FTC Documents on Several Investigations into WinRed

WASHINGTON – Today, Reps. Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Joe Morelle (NY-25), and Robert Garcia (CA-42), the top Democrats on the Committees on Judiciary, House Administration, and Oversight and Government Reform, respectively, requested documents from Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson related to any investigations, findings, and penalties imposed on WinRed dating back to June 2019.

“We write about the potential misuse of the political fundraising organization WinRed, Inc. for fraud and other illegal purposes. In accord with its mission to protect the public from deceptive or unfair business practices, it is imperative that the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) ensure that businesses engaged in fundraising for political committees or other advocacy organizations—pivotal actors in our democratic system—are not exploiting or misleading American voters for financial gain. If the American people cannot trust their political system, it is failing them,” wrote the lawmakers.

Public reporting about WinRed and their harmful, deceptive practices have raised serious questions. WinRed’s extremely aggressive practices have “victimized hundreds of elderly Americans and misled those battling dementia or other cognitive impairments into giving away millions of dollars—far more than they ever intended.”

“Congress seeks to determine whether legislation is necessary to prevent violations of federal campaign finance and consumer protection laws in connection with fundraising by political candidates and to guard against deceptive and predatory campaign fundraising practices, illicit foreign influence over federal officials, and other financial misconduct connected to prospective or current federal officials,” added the lawmakers.

The lawmakers requested a response from Chairman Ferguson by July 3, 2025.

Last month Reps. Raskin and Morelle, along with the late Congressman Gerry Connolly, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding that the Treasury make all suspicious activity reports related to the online fundraising platform WinRed and several political action committees, including Elon Musk’s America PAC, available to the Committees.

Full text of the letter is available here.