Seeking evidence of fraud, FBI agents have raided the home and office of a Washington, D.C., lobbyist for clients including Polk County, the Washington Post reported Friday.

Michael Esposito has claimed close ties to President Donald Trump — an assertion Trump has denied. Polk County supervisors paid his firm, Federal Advocates, $720,000 a year after Trump was elected in 2016, and continued making payments of around $60,000 a month, despite a Watchdog investigation in July that found the fees were higher than those paid by the biggest counties in the U.S.

The supervisors decided to solicit bids for a less expensive lobbyist when Federal Advocates' contract expired in December.

After a Post story in November on how Esposito tripled his business while claiming close ties to Trump and his administration, the FBI began investigating Esposito to see whether he may have defrauded clients or engaged in any other financial fraud, the Post reported.

Trump tweeted Nov. 4 that he has no ties to Esposito or his firm. The FBI declined to comment to Post reporters about the raids.

Esposito did not return a Des Moines Register phone call Friday to his office seeking comment.

The Post reported that there were Rolls-Royce and Lincoln SUVs parked in front of Esposito’s suburban Washington home, which the FBI raided Thursday. On social media, he has posted photos of himself in other luxury cars and wrote of the pleasure he takes in buying and selling them.

Polk County first hired Federal Advocates a decade ago for $5,000 a month. Polk supervisors agreed to pay the firm much more in 2016 as it sought help with an IRS audit that found revenues generated by the county-run Prairie Meadows gambling and entertainment complex that should have been reported as taxable income.

The IRS said Prairie Meadows owed nearly $60.5 million in back taxes, fees and interest from 2012 through 2014.

Gary Palmer, president of Prairie Meadows, said the casino and racetrack won its appeal after hiring a top Washington tax attorney. He told Watchdog that Federal Advocates did nothing to help with that legal battle.

Although the county also ostensibly was paying Federal Advocates to try to secure legislation in Congress that would better protect the casino’s nonprofit status, no such bill has surfaced.

Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Reach her at lrood@dmreg.com or 515-284-8549. Follow her on Twitter at @leerood and on Facebook at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog. Our subscribers make the Reader's Watchdog possible.

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