The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Get PolitiFact in your inbox. * Weekly Email Newsletter * Daily Email Newsletter Your Email Address Sign Up ![](\\" richard-cordray___/7343e0dc47bee8355c6f5d76977df236.jpg\\") ![](\\" richard-cordray___/a90bad57dda3f9ffa3b05559fcae8899.jpg\\") Richard Cordray stated on July 25, 2018 in a Facebook ad: \"Education Secretary Betsy DeVos owes Ohio $5.3 million for campaign finance violations and Mike DeWine\'s office refuses to collect the fine.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-false/6a6ef6075c162fdccf5eb960e683dcd1.jpg.\\") ![\\"barely- true\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * Ohio * Education * Legal Issues * Richard Cordray ![\\"Amy](\\" By Amy Sherman August 7, 2018 # Unpaid fine by Betsy DeVos PAC subject of misleading attack by Cordray on DeWine in Ohio Democrat Richard Cordray says that his Republican opponent in the Ohio governor’s race, Attorney General Mike DeWine, has been remiss at collecting a fine from a member of President Donald Trump’s administration. \"Education Secretary Betsy DeVos owes Ohio $5.3 million for campaign finance violations and Mike DeWine\'s office refuses to collect the fine,\" Cordray said in a July Facebook ad. That record breaking fine by the Ohio Elections Commission did happen, but Cordray isn’t telling the full story about the challenges in collecting it. The DeVos-affiliated political action committees were fined by the state of Ohio in 2008, and the fine was upheld in court. But Cordray omits that DeWine has made an effort by filing a lawsuit and winning a judgment. The fines were a subject of litigation for years, including when Cordray was attorney general before DeWine ousted him in the 2010 election. Fine for DeVos PAC In 2003, DeVos and her husband, billionaire Amway heir Richard DeVos, formed All Children Matter to help candidates who support school vouchers, including in Virginia and Ohio. In 2008, the bipartisan Ohio Elections Commission found that the Virginia PAC sent $870,000 to the Ohio PAC, ignoring a warning in an advisory opinion that such a transfer would be illegal under Ohio’s campaign finance laws. The commission voted unanimously to fine the Virginia and Ohio PACs $2.6 million each. The PACs challenged the commission’s ruling in court, but the court dismissed the case because the PACs failed to sue the proper entity. The litigation continued, though. In February 2010 while Cordray was attorney general, the Ohio Courts of Appeal upheld the lower court ruling, and the Ohio Supreme Court refused to take it up a few months later. We asked Cordray’s campaign spokesman why he didn’t collect the fine when he was attorney general. \"It was being litigated for almost the entirety of his tenure as attorney general,\" Mike Gwin said. In November 2010, DeWine beat Cordray to take over as attorney general. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 18, 2024 in a speech in New York When Haitians go to school in Springfield, Ohio, they “take the place of our children in school” and “each one will have a private interpreter.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 23, 2024 In 2013, DeWine ultimately got a court judgment to enforce the fine. But by then, the PACs had wound down and had minimal assets, leaving nothing to collect. When Trump nominated DeVos as his education secretary, a group of Democratic senators including Ohio’s Sherrod Brown, said she should pay the fine. In a letter to senators, DeVos disputed that she was personally liable. \"I was an unpaid volunteer director for ACM Inc. and I did not have day-to- day management responsibilities,\" she wrote. \"I was never a party to the legal proceedings.\" (She was, however, listed as a director on tax filings.) She also wrote that All Children Matter no longer existed and didn’t have the funds to pay the fines. Greg McNeilly, a political adviser to DeVos, made many of the same arguments to PolitiFact in an email. Our ruling Cordray said, \"Education Secretary Betsy DeVos owes Ohio $5.3 million for campaign finance violations, and Mike DeWine\'s office refuses to collect the fine.\" The All Children Matter PACs were fined in 2008, and that was upheld by the courts. The PACs ultimately closed, and they never paid the fines. But Cordray makes it sound like DeWine ignored the whole matter, and that’s not the case. He got a court judgment that upheld the fines against the PACs. But by then, there was nothing for DeWine to go after. The fines were ultimately the responsibility of the PACs, not DeVos personally. The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate this statement Mostly False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Richard Cordray, Facebook ads, July 2018 Ohio Elections Commission, Case summary 2007S-001 Ohio Elections Commission, Advisory opinion 2006ELC-03, May 25, 2006 Salt Lake Tribune, \"Outsiders fund \'school choice\' PAC,\" 2006 Education Week, \"School Choice Group Grows as Force in State Elections; All Children Matter targets candidates opposing vouchers,\" Sept. 27, 2006 Associated Press, \"Ohio levies record fine against education PAC run by Betsy DeVos,\" April 4, 2008 Associated Press, \"School choice expanding as record fine languishes,\" March 29, 2011 Politico, \"DeVos paid legal fees, but not election fine, for Ohio school choice group,\" Jan. 24, 2017 Columbus Dispatch, \"RECORD FINE; Political group\'s appeal refused; Court won\'t hear case about money funneled to GOP,\" June 24, 2010 Columbus Dispatch, \"Betsy DeVos, PAC backed by Education pick owes Ohio millions;\" Nov. 24, 2016 Washington Post, \"Democratic senators press Trump’s education pick Betsy DeVos to pay years-old $5.3 million fine,\" Dec. 14, 2016 Cleveland Plain Dealer, \"Democrats say Trump education nominee Betsy DeVos owes $5.3 million to Ohio,\" Jan. 10, 2017 Ballotpedia, \"Fact check: Does Betsy DeVos owe Ohio taxpayers $5 million?\" Jan. 26, 2017 Court of Appeals Ohio, All Children Matter v Ohio Secretary of State, 2010 Ohio Democratic Party press release, \"If DeWine Can’t Find DeVos to Collect $5.3M Owed Ohioans, He Should Try Looking in D.C.,\" Jan. 17, 2017 Center for Responsive Politics, All Children Matter, Accessed July 25, 2018 IRS tax filings, All Children Matter, 2012-2018 Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Ohio Elections Commission v All Children Matter Final judgment entry, Dec. 11, 2013 Interview, Dan Tierney, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine spokesman, July 26, 2018 Interview, Mike Gwin, Richard Cordray campaign spokesman, July 26, 2018 Interview, Greg McNeilly, Betsy DeVos political adviser, July 27, 2018 Interview, Donald C. Brey / Partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP who represented All Children Matter, July 26, 2018 Interview, Philip C. Richter, Ohio Elections Commission executive director/staff attorney, July 26, 2018 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Amy Sherman ![](\\" ![](\\" Jared Moskowitz stated on September 19, 2024 in una audiencia en la Cámara de Representantes: “El Proyecto 2025 quiere deshacerse de la NOAA” y del Servicio Nacional de Meteorología. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Maria Briceño • September 27, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jared Moskowitz stated on September 19, 2024 in a House hearing: “Project 2025 wants to get rid of NOAA” and the National Weather Service. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 26, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 18, 2024 in a speech in New York: When Haitians go to school in Springfield, Ohio, they “take the place of our children in school” and “each one will have a private interpreter.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • September 23, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview on NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\": A zero-tolerance policy during the Trump administration \"led to less family separation than under Kamala Harris\' border policies.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 26, 2024 in an interview with a podcaster: Vice President Kamala Harris “is a communist. … She is really a Marxist.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rick Scott stated on August 28, 2024 in a post on X: “This month alone, more than 16,000 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls in 3 states.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 23, 2024 in a speech in Las Vegas: “Kamala cast the tiebreaking vote to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to go after your tip income.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • August 28, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on August 14, 2024 in a speech in California: Former President Donald Trump “cut overtime benefits for millions of workers.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Pete Buttigieg stated on August 11, 2024 in an interview on CNN State of the Union: Gov. Tim Walz delivered paid family leave in Minnesota but “Republicans are blocking” a Biden-Harris proposal. ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 16, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 8, 2024 in a press conference: Says his Jan. 6, 2021, speech on the White House Ellipse drew the “same number of people,” as the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • August 9, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 2, 2024 in a video: In Pompano Beach, Florida, Somali immigrants illegally in the U.S. were in line to get driver’s licenses and “all you need to vote is a driver\'s license.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 27, 2024 in a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota: During the 2020 Minnesota riots after George Floyd’s murder, Gov. Tim Walz didn’t call in the National Guard, “so, I sent in the National Guard to save Minneapolis.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 3, 2024 in a rally in Atlanta: Kamala Harris “supports mandatory gun confiscation.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 24, 2024 in a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina: Kamala Harris “wants to defund the police.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • July 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 24, 2024 in a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina: Kamala Harris “supported abolishing ICE.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • July 29, 2024 ### Unpaid fine by Betsy DeVos PAC subject of misleading attack by Cordray on DeWine in Ohio * ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on September 22, 2024 in una publicación enTikTok: En el sur de Filadelfia, la campaña de Kamala Harris “está pagando a la gente $700 por semana para viajar y asistir a todos sus eventos”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 25, 2024 in an Instagram post: Hurricane Helene was the product of intentional weather modification. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 25, 2024 in a post: Video shows footage of Hurricane Helene ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Grace Abels • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Vote No on 3 stated on September 7, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s Amendment 3 is “the monopoly amendment.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Jared Moskowitz stated on September 19, 2024 in una audiencia en la Cámara de Representantes: “El Proyecto 2025 quiere deshacerse de la NOAA” y del Servicio Nacional de Meteorología. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Maria Briceño • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 24, 2024 in social media posts: Vice President Kamala Harris responded, “Next question please,” when asked about the economy during an Aug. 29 CNN interview. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 18, 2024 in a Threads post: Melania Trump “was an escort.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 23, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Serena Williams reportedly passes away following tragic car crash in Texas.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 25, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Elon Musk silences Taylor Swift: Shocking ban wipes out 1 million followers and costs her a staggering $72 million!” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Jared Moskowitz stated on September 19, 2024 in a House hearing: “Project 2025 wants to get rid of NOAA” and the National Weather Service. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 26, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. 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Education Secretary Betsy DeVos owes Ohio 53 million for campaign finance violations and Mike DeWine's office refuses to collect the fine