A La Cañada Flintridge woman has agreed to plead guilty to charges that she made illegal campaign contributions using the identities of others.
Insurance brokerage executive Teena Maria Hostovich, 66, will admit to making contributions in the name of another aggregating to more than $10,000 in a year, a felony, and will be fined $43,500, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
Prosecutors allege Hostovich used 11 people, including coworkers at the insurance brokerage, their family members and “individuals who performed personal services for Hostovich and her family,” to illegally contribute more than $75,000 to candidates for federal office.
Officials did not identify which campaigns received this money, only saying that they supported candidates for president, U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.
Using what’s known as “conduit” campaign contributions, she allegedly skirted campaign contribution limits by having others donate money she had given them or repaying those who’d already donated using PayPal. As someone who’d previously donated and raised money for candidates, she knew this was illegal, authorities said.
“Hostovich admitted in her plea agreement that one of the reasons she engaged in conduit contributions was to secure an appointment to the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees in Washington, D.C,” the DOJ said. “She did not obtain this position.”
She faces a maximum sentence of two years in federal prison when she’s sentenced. She’s due to make her initial appearance in court “in the coming weeks,” the DOJ added.
In a statement, representatives for Hostovich noted that she “has cooperated fully and worked transparently with law enforcement authorities [and] is committed to making the appropriate amends.”
“Teena Hostovich has agreed to plead guilty to one count of making contributions in the name of another, involving five donations of $2,900 each in 2021,” the statement said. “In doing so, she is accepting responsibility for her conduct early and swiftly … She deeply regrets that her ardent support of some candidates led to lapses in judgment in a fraction of the donations she helped to raise and make. She is even more remorseful for the shadow that this investigation may cast on the candidates to whom the donations were made, as they had no knowledge of any wrongdoing.”
