California Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife were indicted on various charges Tuesday after allegedly using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses. Authorities say the couple stole $250,000 and then filed false campaign finance records. Among those expenses are more than $1,500 for video games on Steam.
The 47-page indictment, which you can read in full on CNN, states the Hunters spent campaign funds on Steam games 82 times throughout 2015 for a total of $1,528.68. When questioned, Duncan Hunter reportedly said his teenage son used his credit card for one game, and more unauthorized charges appeared after Duncan tried to close the website.
“The Hunters concealed and disguised the personal nature of their family’s purchases of video games using campaign funds by falsely claiming to a financial institution that the payments were fraudulent charges and then reporting the purchases to the FEC and the public as fraudulent charges,” the indictment said.
The Hunters spent substantially more than they earned, according to the document. They overdrew their bank account more than 1,100 times in a seven-year period, racking up more than $37,000 in overdraft fees. Their credit cards were frequently maxed out, often with five figure balances, resulting in $24,600 in finance charges, interest, and other fees.
Besides the video games, the Hunters allegedly spent campaign funds on hotel rooms, airline tickets, meals, vacations, and more. Some of the more outrageous expenses include $14,000 for a Thanksgiving trip to Italy, more than $11,300 for household items at Costco, and $462.46 for 30 shots of tequila and a steak during a bachelor party in Washington D.C.
The Hunters will be arraigned in a San Diego court on Thursday.
