Guest post by investigative reporter Bob Cushman, Founder of Freedom Press LLC
Recently, the Detroit Free Press published an article discussing the Secretary of State/Candidate for Michigan Governor’s campaign fundraising. It stated:
“In the early days of Michigan’s 2026 governor’s race, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has amassed the largest campaign war chest so far.
“This historic haul shows that Michiganders are ready for Jocelyn Benson to be the next governor,” said Benson’s campaign manager Nikki Goldschein. Benson has brought in over $4.7 million for her campaign since launching it, more than any other candidate vying to replace Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who cannot run again due to term limits.
Benson’s fund includes over $570,000 she previously raised while running for secretary of state.”
“Benson raised over $1.2 million in the most recent quarter for the fundraising period covering July 21 through Oct. 20. She ended with almost $3 million cash on hand.”
Jocelyn Benson recently issued a campaign statement that said:
“With over 35,000 donations, 94% of them $100 or less, and no corporate PAC money, Benson’s campaign reflects the most grassroots momentum of anyone in the race. “
In the following analysis, we will examine the validity, hidden reasons and true causal factors of the above statement.
“Follow The Money”
This investigative journalist decided that it is time to “Follow The Money” of Jocelyn Benson’s attempt to rule Michigan as Governor until January of 2031.
The quote is “Follow the money,” which was popularized by the 1976 movie All the President’s Men. In the film, the character Deep Throat (played by Hal Holbrook) tells the journalist Bob Woodward (played by Robert Redford) to “follow the money” to uncover the truth behind the Watergate scandal.
49.6 % of the donations and 45% of the money comes from Out of State!
In order to make some sense of the millions reportedly flowing into Benson’s war chest, the Michigan Campaign Finance Searchable Database was consulted.
My initial results are as stated below:
All donations to Jocelyn Bensons committees (JOCELYN BENSON FOR GOVERNOR and JOCELYN BENSON FOR SECRETARY OF STATE) since the November 8, 2022 election resulted in a total of $ 5,581,032. The total that came from “out of Michigan” amounted to $2,532,256. This means that 45% of the money to elect Benson to the highest office in Michigan came from “Out of State”!
All of the donations received by Jocelyn Benson since the November 8th, 2022, election can be viewed HERE.
Further parsing of the massive amount of data reveals the amazing number of 42,092 donations subsequent to the November 2022 election. 20,864 of these donations came from “Out of State”.
This means that 49.6 % of the donations and 45% of the money to elect Jocelyn Benson to the highest office in the state of Michigan comes from elsewhere!
Question:
How is it feasible that so many persons outside of the state of Michigan (almost half of all donations) would be financially invested in determining Michigan’s future?
Answer:
Massive Money Laundering! Massive money laundering is described in detail in the article HERE.
Examples of money laundering using “smurfs” are as follows:
1. Robert Ahronheim – Ann Arbor MI – Benson Smurf
Notice how Robert allegedly donated exactly $5.00 every month from October 2023 through September of 2024 on exactly the 23rd of each month to the Benson SOS committee.
Notice how Robert donated exactly $5.00 eight different donations on March 3, 2025, to the Jocelyn Benson for Governor committee.
When we look at Robert Ahronheim’s federal donations as reported to the FEC, we see an unusually large number of donations (448 to be exact) allegedly totaling about
$29,614. About 45% of Ahronheim’s FEC donations were assigned to ActBlue. ActBlue has recently been shown to have been complicit in money laundering. An internet search reveals that Robert is 76 years old. One of the stereotypical indicators of “smurfs” is the use of seniors in the identity theft of money laundering.
In a recent White House memo, allegations were made concerning ActBlue:
April 24, 2025
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENTSUBJECT:Investigation into Unlawful “Straw Donor” and Foreign Contributions in American Elections
“Specifically, these reports raise concerns that malign actors are seeking to evade Federal source and amount limitations on political contributions by breaking down large contributions from one source into many smaller contributions, nominally attributed to numerous other individuals, potentially without the consent or even knowledge of the putative contributors. The reports also raise concerns that such “straw donations” are being made through “dummy” accounts, potentially using gift cards or prepaid credit cards to evade detection.
Further, there is evidence to suggest that foreign nationals are seeking to misuse online fundraising platforms to improperly influence American elections. A recent House of Representatives investigation revealed that a platform named ActBlue had in recent years detected at least 22 “significant fraud campaigns”, nearly half of which had a foreign nexus. During a 30-day window during the 2024 campaign, the platform detected 237 donations from foreign IP addresses using prepaid cards, indicating that this activity remains a pressing concern. “
Among researchers such as Peter Bernegger, Bob Cushman, and others, the use of ActBlue with the possible complicity of the FEC itself has long been recognized as a very real vehicle of money laundering.
The actual FEC data belonging to Robert Ahronheim may be viewed HERE.
2. Linda Appling – Benson Smurf
According to the Michigan Residents Database:
Linda Darnell Appling is 77 years old, born in 1948. Our records show she is a resident in Lansing, 48911 Michigan. According to Zillow, Linda’s 1200 sq foot house is worth about $147,000.
According to the FEC database, this Michigan senior donated almost $74,000 in 8700 separate federal donations over the last 21 years.
Clearly, this was a fraudulent use of this lady’s identity to launder money to Democratic candidates and entities.
Notice the very small amounts of money to Jocelyn Benson. This money laundering scheme attempts to sneak under the radar by using small amounts of money by hundreds of thousands or even millions of smurfs that had their identities stolen for this purpose.
It is not believed that the individuals themselves are aware of this scheme. This laundering scheme has been going on for over 20 years and has only been discovered in the last couple of years. One of the signature indications of these money laundering schemes is the frequent use of the identities of persons over 60 years of age. Some have characterized this money laundering scheme as “senior abuse”.
The actual FEC data belonging to Linda Darnell Appling may be viewed HERE.
3. Terry Harris – Jocelyn Benson Smurf
According to an internet search, Terry Harris is a 75-year-old man living in Howard City, MI.
Notice the super small donations shown in the Michigan campaign finance search results. This is stereotypical of the bad actors trying to disguise the money laundering by attempting to stay “under the radar”.
Data from the Michigan Campaign Finance website:
In the following data from the FEC database, notice that Terry Harris allegedly made 1416 donations for a total of $6,326 that only average $2.00 each.
Once again, the bad actors are trying to “stay under the radar”. It is also very incriminating that 70% of all of Terry’s so-called “donations” are contained in the ActBlue “donations”.
The entire FEC data can be viewed HERE.
4. Mary Hannon – Jocelyn Benson Smurf
Mary L. Hannon is 73 years old and was born in August 1952. She has lived at 924 Thorntree Blvd in Jackson, MI since January 1974.
The Michigan donations to Benson are seen as follows:
The FEC (Federal) donations from Mary Hannon are seen below. Please note that the average donation of $20.54 is designed to stay under the radar.
The entire FEC portion of Mary Hannon can be viewed HERE.
5. Marcella Menconi – Jocelyn Benson Smurf from Surprise, AZ
The internet search suggests that Marcella Menconi is 82 years old and lives in Surprise, AZ.
Notice the one-dollar donations made precisely on the 28th of each month from November 2022 until December 2024 to the Jocelyn Benson for SOS fund. Then notice the ten separate donations of one dollar all occurring on March 3 , 2025, to Jocelyn Benson for Governor.
There is no reasonable way that this actually occurred. The clerical person who was hired to phony these numbers into the official record was very careless!
The Michigan Campaign Finance data from the SOS is below:
The complete FEC donation history of Marcella Menconi can be viewed HERE.
The FEC data from above shows that Marcella Menconi allegedly donated 1,393 times (to
federal candidates) for a total of $8,492, and the average donation only equates to $6.10 each. This fully aligns with the fraudulent ActBlue practice of disguising a very large amount of money laundered through hundreds of thousands of persons to “stay below the radar!”
Look at Michael Bailey’s alleged donations!
“Michael Bailey’s FEC Donations”
Michael Bailey’s FEC donations may be viewed HERE.
Look at Ronald Bliz’s donations!
Look at David Boley’s donations!
Look at Erin Connolly’s donations!
Look at Helen Edwards donations!
Look at Kenneth Greaves donations!
One Big House of Cards!
Jocelyn Benson issued a press release trying to persuade us that she had the largest grassroots of any candidate! This is emphatically NOT THE CASE!
Benson campaign lie:
“With over 35,000 donations, 94% of them $100 or less, and no corporate PAC money, Benson’s campaign reflects the most grassroots momentum of anyone in the race. “
When the 42,000 donations to Jocelyn Benson received since the 2022 election are sorted by amount, the following was learned:
- 24,726 donations are $10.00 or less
- 11,975 donations are $5.00 or less
- 1330 donations are exactly $1.00
Many of the one-dollar donations are from the same person!
Summary
Discerning, objective observers would agree that Jocelyn Benson has heavily relied upon laundered money to seek high public office in Michigan. The subject of money laundering by ActBlue with the obvious complicity of the FEC has been well documented. Experience has shown that Justice cannot be obtained in Michigan due to the highly partisan nature of the Michigan Attorney General, Dana Nessel.
Therefore, a thorough investigation is requested by:
- the US DOJ, Pam Bondi
- the FBI, Kash Patel
- All non-biased journalists and truth seekers
The post Jocelyn Benson’s Campaign Caught Red-Handed Using “Smurf” Donors to Funnel Illegally Obtained Funds appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.