Jul 20, 2011

Audit finds John Edwards may owe $2.3M

By Catalina Camia, USA TODAY
Updated 1h 44m ago

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards seems to have enough legal problems on his hands. Now he might owe the government about $2.3 million from his failed 2008 campaign.

A Federal Election Commission audit found the Edwards campaign received more than $2.1 million in matching funds that it wasn't entitled to get and has nearly $142,000 in "stale dated checks," which are checks that donors who were refunded money never cashed.

The FEC will meet tomorrow about the audit and determine whether Edwards, who has been indicted on felony charges stemming from a coverup of his affair with Rielle Edwards, will have to pay back the U.S. Treasury.

The FEC audit of Edwards' 2008 campaign also found that he overstated how much cash he had in the bank and that he failed to itemize loan repayments.

Edwards is accused of taking more than $1 million from campaign donors to hide his affair. Four of the six charges handed down by a federal grand jury are related to campaign-finance laws. He has pleaded not guilty.

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