Accused of illegally accepting donations from corporation
FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 29, 2014) — Attorney General Jack Conway today announced the indictment of Kentucky State Representative Forrest “Ben” Waide, 51, of Madisonville, for alleged violations of Kentucky campaign finance laws. This morning, a Franklin County grand jury returned a two-count felony indictment charging Waide with knowingly accepting contributions from a corporation, in violation of KRS 121.150(20), and causing funds in his campaign account to be expended for purposes that were not allowable campaign expenditures, in violation of KRS 121.175.
The charges relate to Waide’s 2010 campaign for state representative and are the result of an investigation conducted by Conway’s Department of Criminal Investigations. The investigation was conducted in response to a January 2014 complaint filed with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance by shareholders of Liberty Rehabilitation, PSC. Waide is alleged to have illegally accepted approximately $10,000 in campaign contributions from Liberty Rehabilitation, a company in Madisonville where he was a partner. He is also alleged to have submitted approximately $6,000 in receipts to his campaign fund for reimbursement of expenses he did not incur.
Office of Special Prosecutions is handling the prosecution of this case. Waide is scheduled for arraignment on August 29 at 9 a.m. in Franklin Circuit Court.
The charges against Waide are class D felonies, and each carries a penalty of one to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
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