Gabriel Whitley, a former Congressional candidate from Indianapolis, has been sentenced to three months in federal prison for falsifying campaign finance records. Following his prison term, Whitley will be under supervised release for one year. The 27-year-old admitted to making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Court documents revealed that Whitley was a candidate in the 2024 primary election for Indiana’s 7th Congressional District. After failing to win the primary on May 7, 2024, Whitley reportedly fabricated campaign contributions. He falsely reported these to the FEC, creating misleading financial reports that deceived potential voters about the authenticity of his support.
As stated in the documents, Whitley, serving as the Treasurer of his campaign committee, “Honest Gabe for Congress,” filed reports to the FEC alleging contributions from 67 fictitious individuals. The contributions were falsely claimed to total about $222,690, including fabricated names and details.
The reports to the FEC on January 31, 2024, continued this false reporting. On April 15, 2024, Whitley submitted another misleading report claiming a fictional $100,000 loan to his campaign, a claim he knew to be false.
John E. Childress, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, emphasized the importance of transparency in federal elections. "Gabriel Whitley intentionally created an illusion ... denying the public of its most powerful tool for casting informed ballots: transparency," he stated. According to Acting FBI Special Agent Dominique Evans, Whitley's actions were a deliberate effort to deceive the public, breaching campaign finance laws.
The FBI conducted the investigation, and the sentence was delivered by U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II. The prosecution team was led by Acting U.S. Attorney Childress, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany J. Preston, and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Nicole Lockhart, with former PIN Trial Attorney Jacob Steiner also contributing.