AUSTIN (1080 KRLD) - An Austin man has been sentenced to three years in prison for taking money for fake Political action committees.
40-year-old Kyle Gerald Prall founded and advertised three bogus political action committees and solicited a total of $548,000 during the 2016 election cycle. They were Feel Bern, HC4President and Trump Victory. Former US attorney Matthew Orwig says he "seemed to be equal opportunity in who he victimized, people on the right and people on the left."
Prosecutors say Prall used the money on himself. According to a press release from the US attorney's office from the Western Distinct of Texas, "he transferred $205,496 to himself through sham LLCs that he created for the purpose of moving the money, while contributing less than $5,100 to political causes. Additionally, Prall used the political committees' debit cards to pay for his personal travel and entertainment expenses, such as travel to Jacksonville, Florida, and Belize; hotel stays in Miami Beach, Florida, and Austin, Texas; and to pay for food, Hookah, alcohol and bottle service, "club dances performed by entertainers," room service, minibar charges, a deep-tissue massage, and a pet-cleaning fee."
Orwig adds "Mr. Prall was quite the entrepreneur. He exploited the political season in order to get people to contribute money. It's not unfamiliar to when there's a hurricane and people form scams around that."
As part of his sentence, Prall will have to pay everything back.