NC Man sues pro-Trump group to return $2.5 Million donation

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Source: The Washington Post / Getty

A North Carolina man is demanding a $2.5 million refund of a political donation to a pro-Trump PAC, citing “empty promises” in a new lawsuit filed in court last week.

Fred Eshelman, a Willington businessman, donated the money to True the Vote, Inc. and is asking for all of it to be returned after the group’s efforts failed to prove fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Newsweek reported Eshelman wired the Houston-based organization $2 million on Nov. 5 and then sent the remaining $500,000 the following week.

According to Business Insider, “The complaint said True the Vote promised to gather whistleblower complaints and file lawsuits in battleground states where President Donald Trump lost. But it said Eshelman’s efforts to monitor its progress were met with “vague responses, platitudes, and empty promises of follow-up that never occurred.”

Catherine Engelbrecht, the group’s founder and president, said in a statement that the claims in the lawsuit were “not accurate and do not represent the true situation.”

Eshelman claimed the group offered him $1 million to drop the lawsuit.

Up to this point, none of Trump campaign’s claims of voter fraud have been factual. Multiple allegations made by the president and his supporters has been pushed forward in largely unsuccessful litigation efforts. This included a claim that thousands of dead people had votes cast in their names however, there is “no evidence of any widespread fraud,” according to U.S. Attorney General William Barr in a statement made on Tuesday.

Eshelman’s suit against True the Vote was filed in the Southern District of Texas. It’s not clear if his claims will succeed, but the venture capitalist definitely has the financial means to pursue his complaint. Forbes estimated Eshelman’s net worth to be at least $380 million in 2014.

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