Man With Suspicious PACs For Vets And Cops Has A Third Group That’s Just As Troubling

At first glance, Richard League seems like a patriotic guy. He serves as the treasurer of three political-action committees supporting veterans and police officers. But dig a little deeper, and a troubling pattern emerges. Although League’s groups take in a fair amount of money, largely from small-dollar donors, they don’t seem to do much for vets or cops.

Last week, Forbes reported on two of League’s groups, the American Veterans Initiative and the Police Coalition of America. It turns out there’s a third group with equally confounding finances and a confusingly similar name, the American Veterans Society.

Like the Americans Veterans Initiative and the Police Coalition of America, American Veteran Society has spent all its money—$1.1 million in total—on administrative expenses, including tech support, consulting and wages. None of the cash went to political campaigns, even though the group promises to “identify and promote any lawmakers who will pledge to stand with, advocate for, and help our nation’s PTSD and Suicide Prevention amongst active duty and our veterans.”

Instead, a Phoenix company called MPI collected 88% of the funds in the 2020 election cycle. The firm has not received payments from any other political committee registered with the Federal Election Commission. Efforts to reach League proved unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, he still seems to be collecting money. The American Veterans Society draws almost all of its funding from small-dollar donors. More than half of identified contributors describe themselves as retirees. One donor listed his occupation as “passed away.”