Where Is Ball Getting The Money To Lend Her Campaign?

The other day we reported on the latest fundraising totals in VA’s 1st Cong. Dist and noted that Krystal Ball has loaned her campaign a total of $227,767.76 so far, including an infusion of $150,000 coming on June 30th.  Previously, we just took her at her word that she was a successful software designer who made a fortune doing that and was now pumping it into her campaign coffers, so we had no reason to question the source of that income.

Then a copy of her personal financial disclosure form that as a candidate for Congress she had to file with the U.S. House of Representatives fell into our hands.  True, it only provides us with a glimpse of her finances through Aug. 31, 2009, so the information is nearly a year old.  However, it raised some questions considering its contents.

The money she loaned her campaign certainly didn’t come from any liquid assets since she lists various Bank of America accounts totaling only between $50,001 and $100,000.  (In fact, she lists as one of her liabilities a Bank of America credit line in the same amount category.)

What about income from stocks?  Well, she only listed dividends for Bank of America stock and Newell Rubbermaid stock ranging between $1 and $250.  Apparently, none of her other stocks paid any dividends.  And what of those other stocks?  What if she liquidated them?  Let’s do some math, shall we?

Bank of America – valued between $1,001 to $15,000

Newell Rubbermaid – valued between $1,001 to $15,000

Sprint – valued between $1,001 to $15,000

Starbucks – valued between $1,001 to $15,000

That gets us to between $4,004 and $60,000.  Still a far cry from the $227,767.76.

Well, there’s the Papa Bello Pizza Restaurant stock valued between $50,001 and $100,000.  I checked to see where there was one around here, but unfortunately they are currently updating their locations, so none are listed.  I’d call to find out where one is, but it would cost more to use a payphone than to purchase a single share in the company today with it currently trading at 23 cents.  (Last year around this time it was trading at 7 cents.)

Then there is the Crowdgather, Inc. stock valued between $100,001 and $250,000.  Perhaps she sold her interest in that when it hit its 52-week high of $2.33 back in Feb. before it fell back to its current level of $1.00.

Or maybe she cashed in some of her holdings in various India-based investments.  But that raises whole other questions about who would buy that stock, whether the purchaser(s) had any business dealings or connections with her husband, whether she got a sweetheart deal on the sale of any such assets or even if any purchase of said stock was a way to pump foreign money into her bank account that she could then turn around and use to fund her campaign.

Let’s not forget the downside here, either.  She was down between $50,001 and $100,000 in her eTrade stock margin account, had the aforementioned Bank of America credit line liability of between $50,001 and $100,000, owed Citibank / Sallie Mae between $50,001 and $100,000 in outstanding student loans and between $10,001 and $15,000 on two charge accounts.

So, she has between $175,000 and $330,000 in liabilities to outside creditors, then lends her campaign $227,767.76 so far (and I would still be interested in finding out exactly how she amassed those funds.)  And earlier this year she managed to repay herself $11,270 on Jan. 5 as well as her husband $7,620.15 on Jan. 20.

As you can see, by running up between $175,000 and $330,000 in liabilities to others and still managing to find $227,767.76 to lend to her own campaign, Ms. Ball is demonstrating in her personal financial affairs the exact problems that congressional Democrats are exhibiting with our federal budget.  Fortunately, voters of the 1st Dist. won’t be letting her anywhere near the taxpayers’ checkbook come November.