The actor who plays a character that is generally on the right side of the ruse might have been deceived out of a large sum of money.
Two months ago, James Bond actor Daniel Craig gave nearly $50 thousand to a super PAC that misrepresented an affiliation to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, and now has no idea where his money is, or where it is being spent.
Craig donated $47,300 to Americans Socially United in July, a super PAC that was previously known by the names “Bet on Bernie 2016,” and “Ready for Bernie Sanders 2016,” before the Federal Election Commission deemed the committee to have no link to the Vermont senator.
A report that was released Thursday by the Center for Public Integrity called in to question ASU’s founder, a man named Cary Lee Peterson, and legitimacy of the organization. The report also questions whether Daniel Craig and others may have been tricked out of their money, as Peterson has a checkered past, which has been well-documented by the Center.
Peterson, whose age and addresses cannot be verified, has “has routinely run afoul of creditors and the law — including stiffing one of the nation’s largest news companies out of a six-figure sum,” the report states.
Peterson also has a rap sheet, which includes a 2014 arrest in Arizona for disorderly conduct, and a 2007 conviction for “extreme DUI,” in addition to numerous other financial and legal troubles.
A representative for Craig confirmed to Variety Thursday the Briton, who is a U.S. resident, is among a number of Sanders supporters who have unwittingly given money to the third party PAC.
Craig told the entertainment news site Thursday in a statement, that he donated the large sum to Americans Socially United in “good faith,” as he supports Sanders’ bid for the democratic party’s nomination.
“I made a donation to this organisation in good faith as I understood it to support Senator Sanders’ candidacy,” Craig told the site in a statement. “Currently, I have been informed of no evidence to question that my donation has not been used as intended. Should that situation occur, then clearly, I will review my position.”
Americans Socially United was ordered by the FEC to cease and desist from claiming an association with Sanders’ campaign months ago, and has also been asked by the campaign directly to stop taking money in the legislator’s name.
Still, Peterson maintains his only motives are seeing Sanders elected as president.
“I just believe in the cause,” he told the Center for Public Integrity. “If I don’t do it, who [will]?”
He said his organization has already spent more than $1 million on Bernie Sanders billboards, field organizers and other materials.
The PAC reportedly is one of eight political groups Peterson has registered with the FEC in 2015. None of the groups have filed campaign finance disclosures, in accordance with federal law.
The Sanders campaign has not commented on the matter.
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