Politics can be an expensive game. And anyone who wants to know the cost of sloppy politics might want to check with the Federal Home Mortgage Loan Corp.
Freddie Mac, as the company is commonly known, agreed in April to pay a $3.8 million fine to the Federal Election Commission—the largest penalty in FEC history. The fine settled allegations that Freddie Mac used corporate staff and resources to solicit contributions from employees which were passed on to federal candidates, in violation of the Federal Elections Campaign Act and FEC regulations. It also served as a costly reminder to Corporate America about the perils of not complying with the myriad of federal, state and local elections laws.
