Community Corner

Campaign Finance Fraud Guilty Pleas for Ex-5th District Candidate, Husband

Lisa Wilson-Foley and Brian Foley face a year in prison and $100,000 fines for hiding the use of campaign funds.


Former candidate for the 5th Congressional District Lisa Wilson-Foley and her husband, Brian Foley, both pleaded “guilty” to conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions as part of an investigation into illegal use of funds in the run up to the 2012 elections.

According to court documents, Wilson-Foley, Foley and a former state elected official who had previously been convicted on felony charges conspired to funnel money to the former official for services rendered during the campaign without those payments becoming public. 

As part of the scheme, the official — who has been cited as former Gov. John Rowland — was paid for his consulting through Foley’s nursing home company and the payments withheld from mandatory campaign finance records.

According to a release from the Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s Office, Wilson-Foley wanted the former official to work with the campaign, however she “believed that if the co-conspirator was hired in a significant role by her campaign and paid through her campaign committee for that work, the media and the voting public would become aware of the co-conspirator’s official association with her campaign.” 

In order to avoid such scrutiny, “Foley and other created and executed a fictitious contract outlining an agreement purportedly for consulting services between the co-conspirator and the law offices of an attorney who worked for Foley’s nursing home company.”

The release also stated that the former official did provide “nominal services” to the nursing home company as a cover.

The husband and wife are accused of paying approximately $35,000 between September 2011 and April 2012.

“The payments originated with Foley and constituted campaign contributions, but were not reported to the FEC in violation of federal campaign finance laws,” the release stated.

Wilson-Foley and Foley face maximums of 1 year in prison and fines of up to $100,000. Sentencing is scheduled for June 23 in Bridgeport Superior Court.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here