FEC fines former Polk Rep. Ross Spano $30,000 for federal election law violations in 2018

The Federal Election Commission has found that former U.S. Rep. Ross Spano violated campaign-finance laws in 2018 and has fined him $30,000.

The commission reached a conciliation agreement last month with Spano, a Republican who was elected in 2018 in U.S. House District 15, which then included all of Lakeland, along with parts of Hillsborough and Lake counties. Spano has 120 days from the date of the agreement to pay the full fine.

Spano, a former Florida legislator, defeated Neil Combee of Lakeland in the 2018 Republican primary and then beat Democrat Kristen Carlson of Lakeland in the general election. Even before that election, though, questions arose about Spano’s campaign finances.

Jan Barrow, then the president of the Lakeland Democratic Women’s Club, filed a letter of complaint with the FEC in 2019. That triggered an investigation that took more than four years to complete.

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Barrow shared a letter the FEC sent her, along with a copy of the conciliation agreement.

The FEC does not publicly disclose enforcement actions and case documents until 30 days after the commission has closed a case, FEC spokesperson Christian Hilland said by email.

"It was the honor of a lifetime to serve,” Spano said Monday in a text message. “While I don’t agree with the FEC’s conclusions, as reflected by my contention language in the Conciliation Agreement, I’ve made the decision to move forward, and I’m focused on serving my family and community in other ways."

Personal loans at issue

The investigation arose from a series of unsecured, personal loans that two friends, Cary Carreno and Karen L. Hunt, gave to Spano between June and October 2018. Spano, then a resident of Dover in Hillsborough County, was running for an open seat after Rep. Dennis Ross, a Lakeland Republican, opted not to seek re-election.

Carreno made two loans to Spano totaling $110,000, and Hunt gave two loans totaling $70,000, for a combined $180,000. Spano immediately used the money to make corresponding contributions to his campaign that he reported as coming from his own personal funds, the FEC report said.

Election law allows a candidate to use money from a commercial lender but not funds derived from personal loans. The FEC described the friends’ loans as campaign contributions, citing testimony from Carreno and Hunt that the money was intended to support Spano’s campaign.

Federal election laws limited contributions to $2,700 per election cycle in 2018.

The FEC determined that Spano used $15,500 from the personal loans to cover personal expenses and expenses related to his law firm.

Spano secured a loan from CenterState Bank to repay Carreno and Hunt, the FEC reported. But his campaign had only repaid $110,000 of $164,500 in excessive contributions as of October 2019, the FEC report said.

The agency found that Spano’s campaign violated federal election law in three ways: by knowingly accepting excessive contributions, by misreporting the money received from Spano’s friends as coming from his personal funds and by failing to “refund or disgorge” the money in a timely manner.

Spano’s political committee, Ross Spano for Congress, was aware by Dec. 3, 2018, that the contributions from Carreno and Hunt were impermissible and was required to refund the money within 30 days, the report said. The FEC analysis also implicates Spano’s campaign treasurer, Robert Phillips. It wasn’t clear Monday if Phillips faced any punishment.

The FEC analysis also found that Spano failed to file a required Federal Disclosure Statement to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics on time during the 2018 election. The statement was initially due in May, and the campaign received an extension to July.

Spano’s campaign did not submit the statement until November, three days before the general election, and then only after a newspaper reporter asked the candidate about the delayed filing.

Spano said that he relied on a campaign consultant, Brock Mikosky, who assured him that he was waiting to hear from the Ethics Committee about an extension, the FEC report said. Mikosky took responsibility for the error and paid the late fee, Spano told the FEC.

Spano and Phillips signed the agreement on March 23. Charles Kitcher, the FEC’s associate general counsel for enforcement, signed on April 19.

As part of the conciliation agreement, Spano’s committee will amend its disclosure reports.

As of March 31, Spano’s campaign carried debt of nearly $109,000, according to an FEC quarterly report.

Facing other inquiries

Spano also faced an inquiry by the House Ethics Committee, which in 2019 signaled that it was deferring its investigation upon the request of the Department of Justice. Carlson said she and Combee filed a criminal complaint against Spano, and as of Monday she hadn’t heard of any resolution of that investigation.

The Florida Bar confirmed in 2020 that it was investigating a complaint against Spano over his handling of campaign finances. The Bar’s communications office did not immediately respond Monday afternoon to a question about the status of that probe. Spano, who now operates a law firm in Riverview, is listed on the Bar’s website as a member in good standing.

“We're sorry it took so long, but sometimes the wheels of justice just move slowly,” Carlson said.

The FEC went for periods in 2019 and 2020 when it lacked enough members to vote on actions.

Carlson, who entered the 2018 race later than Spano, noted that the FEC sends candidates a thick packet detailing election laws and guidelines. She said she filed her statement on time and that Spano should have been able to do the same.

Barrow, who filed the complaint with the FEC, said she appreciated the penalty but considered it a case of justice delayed and therefore denied.

“Had Spano had integrity in his 2018 campaign, the outcome could have been different with Kristen Carlson being Florida’s 15's US Representative,” Barrow said in a text message. “It's unfortunate that he willfully turned his head and ignored the law. As an attorney and a former Florida House Rep, I expect better out of him.”

Spano’s campaign problems spurred former Lakeland City Commissioner Scott Franklin to challenge him in the Republican primary in 2020. Franklin, drawing heavily on his own funding, upset Spano and then won the general election.

Franklin won another term last year in the redrawn District 18. Laurel Lee, another Republican, gained election in the reconfigured District 15, which still contains part of Lakeland.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: FEC fines former Polk Rep. Ross Spano $30,000 for election violations