GOP Vice Chair Wants Fraud Investigation

Just last week, News 9 told you about the financial problems with the state Republican party. They couldn’t pay their bills and had to get a $20,000 bailout from the Republican National Committee. 

Now, News 9 is hearing allegations of fraud.

“We’ve demonstrated that we are not just a negligent organization or an incompetent organization, but dare I say it could rise to, we might be operating in criminal capacities,” said Oklahoma GOP Vice Chair Mike Turner.

Turner is talking about a letter the financially broke party wrote in June, offering Treasurer Mike McCutchin $1,250 per month for the job he was already doing for free.

The party’s former accountant said the party chairman told her the letter isn’t legit.

“I went into the office and was wondering how we were going to support paying another employee and Tom Demont came up to me and said disregard that letter. We prepared that letter for Mike McCutchin to get a home mortgage. This is fraud. It is to me,” said former accountant Diane Strube.

McCutchin said he was offered the salary but didn’t take it. “That’s accurate but I have not commenced getting any pay…I’m volunteering.”

As for the mortgage?

“I was not making any application for a mortgage,” said McCutchin.

Turner said something is fishy, because any offer like this would first have to go through him and the party’s budget committee and he said it didn’t. 

“That defies logic and reason because I was never notified about this,” said Turner.

Turner said he’s going to the district attorney and the attorney general, asking for an investigation into his own party.  

“You cannot have any reasonable trust in the accounting. This is our treasurer and if he was engaged in perhaps unlawful activities or something outside the color of the law or whatever it may be, your handprints are all over it and frankly you need to go because of it,” said Turner.

Read Related Story: Oklahoma Republican Party Chair Responds To Financial Problems Within Party