The Democratic National Committee has admitted it was tricked into sending $29,000 to a scammer who sent an email pretending to be party chairman Ken Martin. The incident happened in February 2025, just days after Martin took over as head of the DNC.
According to NOTUS, a staffer at the committee received the email and believed it was really from Martin. The staffer, who is no longer with the DNC, then sent the $29,000 to the scammer.
DNC Spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg addressed the incident in a statement to The Daily Mail. “This was a one-off mistake that was promptly caught and addressed, and no similar issues have occurred since,” Ehrenberg said.
DNC recovered only a fraction of the stolen money
Ehrenberg also said the DNC takes its duty to protect donor funds seriously, noting that the money comes from everyday Americans who contribute to the party. According to NOTUS, the DNC reported the scam to Wells Fargo within minutes of discovering it. Despite the quick report, the party was only able to recover $7,000 of the $29,000 that was lost.
This type of scam is not unique to the DNC. Other political committees and candidates from both parties have dealt with similar schemes in recent years. In 2020, the Republican National Committee lost $44,000 in a phishing scam.
The scam adds to a difficult financial period for the DNC. Campaign finance records show the organization is $18.5 million in debt. The party has also used its own headquarters building as collateral for a loan to help cover costs.
A DNC spokesperson told NOTUS that using the building as collateral is not a new practice. “The loan documents were publicly released in November, and the DNC’s building was also used as collateral in our prior lines of credit in 2019, 2018, 2014, and many other years,” the spokesperson said.
The financial strain has reportedly been difficult for Martin as well. The New York Times reported that money pressures have been weighing on him since he took the job after Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries recently addressed reports of tension inside the DNC and voiced his support for Martin’s leadership.
According to multiple people who spoke to the New York Times, Martin threw a phone onto a junior aide’s desk during an outburst in early July while reprimanding the staffer. The people who described the incident were not present when it happened, and accounts of how forcefully the phone was thrown varied.
Those familiar with the matter said the phone landed on the aide’s desk and was not thrown directly at the employee. The incident led to a formal complaint filed with the DNC’s human resources department. The Daily Mail reached out to the DNC for comment on the matter.
Despite the financial troubles, Martin defended the party’s fundraising record this week. He said the current DNC has raised more money than any previous DNC without control of the White House in the 198-year history of the Democratic Party. Martin has also faced pressure from within his own party over calls to release the DNC’s 2024 election review.
The DNC’s struggles come even as Democrats appear to be doing well in early polling for the November midterm elections. A Daily Mail/JL Partners poll found that voters said they would vote for a Democratic candidate over a Republican one by more than nine points, which is a one-point increase from June.
The same poll found that the cost of living is the most common reason voters gave for disapproving of President Trump’s performance. His disapproval rating stands at 52 percent, up two percent from the previous month. Half of voters said Trump is doing a “bad job” on the economy.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, energy costs have risen 15.7 percent over the past 12 months, while overall prices are up about 3.5 percent. Fuel oil costs have increased 42.9 percent, and gasoline prices have gone up 26.7 percent across all types.
The poll also found that only 11 percent of Americans say they are “very comfortable financially” and can easily save money. Most respondents said they are either “managing” or “struggling” to cover basic expenses. More than half of those surveyed, including both Republicans and Democrats, said they believe the economy is getting worse under Trump’s leadership.
Published: Jul 29, 2026 03:30 pm