Correia said committee is now in full compliance

FALL RIVER — The Office of Campaign and Political Finance has found that Mayor Jasiel Correia II’s political committee failed to comply with campaign finance laws and now must provide additional reporting information through 2018 or face legal action.

Correia and his committee treasurer, Gen Andrade, received notice of the violations in a letter by the OCPF dated June 20. The state agency completed a review after receiving a complaint by The Herald News that possible campaign regulations had not been followed by the Correia Committee in 2016.

The Herald News was provided a copy of the public resolution letter sent to Correia by OCPF Deputy General Counsel Sarah A. Hartry.

On Friday, Correia said that he contacted OCPF after receiving an inquiry from a reporter and that he’d previously met with campaign officials in Boston.

“At this point we are in total compliance with the regulations,” Correia said.

OCPF cited the Correia Committee with four violations — failure to deposit contributions in a timely manner; receiving more than the $1,000 annual limit from donors in 2016; receiving an excess of money orders or bank check contributions; and receiving contributions by corporate checks.

According to OCPF review and explanation of the first violation, committees have seven days to deposit contributions upon receipt and that while it deposited numerous checks on December 8, 2016, it did not deposit all checks received in that time frame.

In the second violation, the committee received excess contributions from five people in 2016, which were not deposited until January 2017 and that it returned $3,750 to the contributors this past May. A check of Correia’s bi-monthly campaign reports shows at least three people over contributed by $1,000 in 2016.

The Correia committee also took in excess of bank checks or money orders allowed in one year by three contributors. Campaign finance law allows up to $100 annually per individual in a year.

After OCPF notified the committee of the issue, it refunded the excess amounts.

Campaign finance laws don’t allow politicians to receive campaign contributions from business corporations which, in 2016, the Correia committee collected $1,250. OCPF indicates that $1,000 was returned and that one check, which was not deposited, was purged to the state.

The committee agreed that in 2017 through 2018 that it will provide OCPF with deposit slips and copies of all deposited checks with two weeks of deposit.

OCPF also notified the Correia committee that if it fails to comply with the additional reporting “it could subject you to referral to the Office of the Attorney General.”

Email Jo C. Goode at jgoode@heraldnews.com