Kanye West’s brief but eventful 2020 presidential campaign kicked off on Independence Day that same year. Running on a platform of environmental stewardship and controversially anti-abortion, most of the rap veteran’s support came from his most avid listeners. According to a Daily Beast report, Ye may face some legal trouble from his failed run after the Federal Election Commission cited several violations in its report of the rapper’s unhinged campaign.
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Noted by the publication, the agency reported Kanye’s campaign took multiple donations from minors and possibly accepted contributions from foreign nationals. The report claims that his operation included false names and addresses linked to different shipping facilities on both United States’ coasts.
Finally, a full investigation could be launched into unlawful fundraising practices the 43-year-old hip-hop mogul participated in that helped him amass almost $100,000 in small donations in 2021.
It’s notably unlawful to intentionally take donations from people younger than 18, but Ye’s campaign seemed to purposely target people in this demographic by selling merch bundles on the site. 16-year-old Ian Bloom, who donated to West’s presidential bid, claims he spent $3,280 and has yet to receive any of the items.
“I don’t know what’s happening there,” Ian Bloom told the outlet. “I ordered like 20 hoodies off his campaign website, along with a lot of other people that I know. They said it would be three weeks, and after that I emailed the support team, and the email just wasn’t a thing.”
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Of the reported 3,161 donations reported to the publication, students made up over 1,200 of the donors while committing $349,160 in total, $26,540 coming from this year alone. He also additionally pumped $12 million of his own cash into the campaign. We’ll keep you updated with further developments in the case.
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