Former NC lawyer sentenced in fraud scheme

A disbarred former North Carolina lawyer has been sentenced to four months in federal prison in a fraud scheme involving a political action committee purporting to convince a leading Wisconsin Republican to run for the U.S. Senate.

Jack Daly, 51, also was sentenced to two years of supervised release and to pay a $20,000 fine and two payments of $69,978.37 for restitution and forfeiture, federal officials said.

The charges stem from mail fraud and lying to the Federal Elections Commission.

According to court documents, Daly and a co-conspirator, lawyer Nathanael Pendley, operated Draft PAC to solicit contributions from donors to be used to convince David Clarke Jr., the former sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, to run for the Senate.

Draft PAC raised more than $1.6 million that was spent on additional fundraising to benefit Daly and Pendley, not genuine efforts to convince Clarke to run for office, documents say.

Daly and Pendley’s solicitations to small-dollar donors falsely suggested that Clarke was still likely to run for the Senate, even after he explicitly said he would not, the documents say.

Daly and Pendley also falsely represented in communications with Clarke and the FEC that Daly was no longer responsible for Draft PAC’s operation.

Clarke served as sheriff of Milwaukee County from March 2002 to August 2017.

Said Clark: “It’s a scam PAC really. … No one needs to donate to me for U.S. Senate because I am not running.”

According to court records, Daly targeted vulnerable victims, including a woman with Alzheimer’s disease and elderly veterans. One 96-year-old victim, who “lived alone on a very limited income,” noted that Daly and Pendley were “con artists” who “should be punished” because “they scammed many working people.”

Gregory J. Haanstad, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced June 9 and June 12, respectively, that Daly and Pendley had pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud and to lie to the Federal Election Commission.

The North Carolina State Bar’s website shows that Daly was admitted to the bar in September 1999. He has been disbarred, and his address is now in Puerto Rico.

The bar’s website shows that Pendley’s law license is suspended.