Cybercriminal steals nearly $700K from Moran campaign

TOPEKA (KSNT)- Kansas Senator Jerry Moran was the victim of a cyberattack after a report came out on Friday that thousands of dollars were stolen from the "Moran for Kansas" campaign.

A document from the Federal Election Commission was issued on Dec. 8, 2022, notifying Moran's campaign party about fraudulent activity from a cyber-criminal. The notification said the fraudulent activity happened in the post-general 2022 election reporting.

The office said the incident was reported on Nov. 14, 2022. The office was contacted by Astra Bank about fraud concerning a wire transfer to SRCP Media, Inc. However, it was determined the two wires were fraudulent invoices. One was sent in October for $345,000, and a second was sent on Nov. 9 for $345,000, a total of $690,000.

On Nov. 16, the incident was reported to the Republic County Kansas Sheriff's Office which was then handed over to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is still being investigated.

On Nov. 23, the FEC was alerted by Astra Bank that $168,184.03 of the Nov. 9 wire was retrieved from Wells Fargo Bank.