IN THE MATTER OF )

) September 25, 2020

Brooke Pinto for Ward 2 ) Docket No: OCF- INV 2020- 011
Brooke Pinto Treasurer )
1219 Q Street, NW, )
Washington, D.C. 20009 )

ORDER

This matter came before the Office of Campaign Finance (“OCF”) Office of the General
Counsel pursuant to a Complaint filed by Lauren Wolfe, Esq. (hereinafter Complainant) on June
12, 2020, in which it was alleged that the Brooke Pinto for Ward 2 Principal Campaign Committee
(hereinafter Committee) received excessive contributions which were not included in the Reports
of Receipts and Expenditures the Committee filed with the Office of Campaign Finance. The
allegations if true would mean that the Committee violated the provisions of D.C. Official Code
§§ 1-1163.33(a) (5), 1-1163.33(h) (1) (i), 1–1163.33(j) (1) and § 1-1163.35 (2) (A) by failing to
report the use of a house located at 1300 Q Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20009 as a campaign
headquarters and receiving contributions in excess of the legal limit.

As evidence of the violations the Complainant alleged that the Committee listed the 1300
Q Street address on forms submitted to the AFL-CIO and the Democrats for Education Reform
(DFER) on March 3, 2020. The Complainant additionally alleged that on March 5, 2020, the
Committee sent out invitations to an event scheduled for March 21, 2020 at the 1300 Q Street, NW
address. The Complainant further alleged that candidate Brooke Pinto issued an email on March
11, 2020, stating that contributions have allowed her to open a campaign headquarters.
Complainant concludes that the Committee did not include the cost of office space for the 1300 Q
Street, NW headquarters in any of the reports that were filed with OCF despite the fact that Ms.
Pinto’s parents rented the house and balloons and yard signs promoting the Committee were
displayed at the address beginning on May 30, 2020.

Pursuant to receipt of the complaint, the Office of the General Counsel initiated an investigation
into the matter.

Following OCF’s initiation of an investigation, the Complainant submitted an Amendment to the

Complaint on June 26, 2020, in which it was alleged that the Real Estate agent used his Instagram
account to advertise for the Committee and Karan Agarwal the registered agent of the LLC, that
purchased the property at 1300 Q Street, NW made a $500 donation to the Committee.

The Complainant submitted a second Amendment to the complaint on August 6, 2020, in which
she provided a screen shot and links which featured lawn signs and balloons that stated “Brooke 4
Ward 2” at 1300 Q Street, NW.

The Complainant submitted a third Amendment to the complaint on September 1, 2020, in which
it she alleged that on March 12, 2020 candidate Brooke Pinto’s Facebook page included an
invitation to the Committee’s Headquarters at 1300 Q Street, NW and assured the readers that the
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event “is still on”.

Counsel for the Committee, Joseph A. Gonzalez, Esq. (hereinafter counsel), filed a response to the
allegations included in the complaint on June 25, 2020. Counsel denied all the allegations and
asserted that the Complainant has failed to provide sufficient evidence that the Committee violated
any provisions of the Campaign Finance Act.

Counsel stated that candidate Pinto originally intended to sublet a portion of 1300 Q Street, NW
as a headquarters for her campaign but given the emergence of COVID-19 and the necessity for
social distancing the use of a physical headquarters became impractical and unsafe. For those
reasons, the Committee abandoned the plan for the headquarters and never rented or occupied the
property. Therefore, no expenditures for use of the property occurred.

Counsel additionally stated that because candidate Pinto’s parents intended to support her
campaign by dividing their time between their home in Connecticut and the rental property at 1300
Q Street, NW, the candidate’s mother executed a short term lease with Karan Keith Agarwal whose
real estate company had recently purchased the property. Counsel further stated that Agarwal was
agreeable to a short term lease while waiting for approval of architectural plans to renovate the
property. Counsel also stated that following the execution of the short term lease candidate Pinto
requested a rent calculation for the first floor and received a calculation of $2,500 a month.
However, on March 13, 2020, two days after announcing the campaign event at 1300 Q, Street,
NW, candidate Pinto cancelled all upcoming campaign events due to the health emergency in the
District of Columbia and nationally and instructed her staff to work remotely.

As verification of the Committee’s assertions, Counsel submitted the following documents:

(Respondent’s Exhibit #1 A Declaration by Brooke Pinto in which she states that

neither she nor any member of her campaign staff ever used 1300 Q Street, NW as a
headquarters for her campaign. She additionally stated that neither she nor her family, have
any financial interest in the property. She also stated that while she had intended to lease the
first floor of 1300 Q Street, NW, as the threat of COVID-19 spread, she did not enter into a
lease for the first floor of 1300 Q Street, NW because the use of a physical headquarters became
impractical and unsafe. Therefore, on March 13, 2020, she shifted to virtual workplace and ran
her campaign from her own home office. She further stated that her mother signed a short term
lease on the property on March 2, 2020 and intended to move in during the week of March 9,
2020 but instead travelled to Florida to shelter in place with her father due to COVID-19 and
only spent one night at the location on May 23, 2020. She stated that her mother returned on
May 27, 2020 and three days after her return, on May 30, 2020, her mother and her sister
erected campaign balloons on the corner 1300 Q Street, NW;
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(Respondent’s Exhibit # 2) A Declaration by Karan Keith Argarwal stating that under

his leadership as a principal in the Silverstone Investment Group (SIG), the property at 1300
Q Street, NW was purchased for the purpose of redevelopment. He additionally stated that he
executed a four month lease with candidate Brooke Pinto’s mother Dale Pinto on March 2,
2020 and neither candidate Brooke Pinto, her mother Dale or anyone connected to them have
an ownership interest in the property;

(Respondent’s Exhibit # 3) A copy of a residential lease for the property located at

1300 Q Street, NW, Washington D.C. 20009 executed on March 2, 2020 by Dale Pinto, at a
rate of $5,500.00 per month pro- rated for the first month to $ 5,000.00 with a duration of from
March 4, 2020, until June 30, 2020;

(Respondent’s Exhibit # 4) Copies of an email exchange between candidate Brooke

Pinto and Cody McBeth on February 26, 2020, in which Ms. Pinto requests Proof of market
rent for the campaign headquarter and McBeth responds by stating that the price of $2,500.00
for the ground floor of 1300 Q Street, NW is justified;

(Respondent’s Exhibit # 5) Copies of announcements by the Committee, including the

first debate on March 5, 2020, and Upcoming Events which included a Meet and greet on
March 9 , 2020 at 1219 Q, Street, NW and a Volunteer Sign up, Pick Up event at 1300 Q
Street, NW on March 21, 2020;

(Respondent’s Exhibit # 6) A copy of an email from candidate Brooke Pinto to her

supporters date March 11, 2020, in which she thanks them for helping the Committee to raise
enough money to open a headquarters at 1300 Q Street, NW, hire a team of brilliant women
and distribute yard signs across Ward 2;

(Respondent’s Exhibit # 7) A copy of an email from candidate Brooke Pinto to Caren

Pinto dated March 13, 2020, in which she states that as a result of the aggressive spread of
COVID-19 her campaign will be suspending all in-person events for at least two weeks and
she has decided to postpone or cancel all upcoming events; and

(Respondent’s Exhibit # 8) A copy of an email from candidate Brooke Pinto to Caren

Pinto dated March 30, 2020, in which she states that Mayor Bowser has issued a “stay at home
order” for Washington DC Residents due to the COVID-19 crisis. She also states that her
campaign has compiled a list of citywide resources to help the community get through the
crisis. She additionally endorses the advice of the CDC and DC public health officials
regarding staying at home and social distancing.

On June 30, 2020, Counsel responded to Complainant’s first Amendment by stating that candidate
Pinto’s family does not have any ownership interest in the property located at 1300 Q Street, NW
and the allegations advanced by the Complainant were not supported by any evidence of the
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Committee’s non-compliance with the applicable laws or regulations.

On August 7, 2020, Counsel responded to the Complainant’s second Amendment to the complaint
by submitting a statement denying the allegation and stating that candidate Pinto had already stated
in her declaration that her mother returned to the rental property at 1300 Q, Street, NW on May
27, 2020 and her family posted signs in front of the property.

On September 16, 2020, Counsel responded to the Complainant’s third Amendment to the
complaint by submitting a statement denying the allegations. He noted that as indicated in her
email on the same date, candidate Pinto cancelled all upcoming in-person events on March 13,
2020, and worked remotely with her staff as a result of the aggressive spread of COVID-19.

§ 1–1163.33 Provides:

Contribution limitations.

(a) No person, including a business contributor, may make any contribution, and no
person may receive any contribution from any contributor, that when aggregated with
all other contributions received from that contributor relating to a campaign for
nomination as a candidate or election to public office, including both the primary and
general election or special elections, exceeds:

(1) In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for Mayor or for the recall of
the Mayor, $2,000;

(2) In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for Attorney General or for
the recall of the Attorney General, $1,500;

(3) In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for Chairman of the Council
or for the recall of the Chairman of the Council, $1,500;

(4) In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for member of the Council
elected at-large or for the recall of a member of the Council elected at-large, $1,000;

(5) In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for member of the State Board
of Education elected at-large or for member of the Council elected from a ward or for
the recall of a member of the State Board of Education elected at-large or for the recall
of a member of the Council elected from a ward, $500;
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§ 1–1163.33 (h-1) (i) Provides

(h-1) The contribution limitations in this section shall not apply to independent
expenditure committees.

(i) All contributions made by a person directly or indirectly to or for the benefit of a
particular candidate or that candidate's political committee that are in any way
earmarked, encumbered, or otherwise directed through an intermediary or conduit to
that candidate or political committee shall be treated as contributions from that person
to that candidate or political committee and shall be subject to the limitations
established by this chapter.

§ 1–1163.33 (j) (1) Provides

(j)(1) No candidate or member of the immediate family of a candidate may make a loan
or advance from his or her personal funds for use in connection with a campaign
of that candidate for nomination for election, or for election, to a public office unless a
written instrument fully discloses the terms, conditions, and parts to the loan or
advance. The amount of any loan or advance shall be included in computing and
applying the limitations contained in this section only to the extent of the balance of
the loan or advance that is unpaid at the time of determination.

§ 1–1163.35. Penalties.

(a)(1) Except for violations subject to civil penalties identified under paragraph (2) of
this subsection, any person who violates any provision of Parts A through E of this
subchapter or of subchapter I of Chapter 10 of this title [§ 1-1001.01 et seq.] may be
assessed a civil penalty for each violation of not more than $2,000, or 3 times the
amount of an unlawful contribution, expenditure, gift, honorarium, or receipt of outside
income, whichever is greater, by the Elections Board pursuant to paragraph (3) of this
subsection. For the purposes of this section, each occurrence of a violation of Parts A
through E of this subchapter, and each day of noncompliance with a disclosure
requirement of Parts A through E of this subchapter or an order of the Elections Board,
shall constitute a separate offense.

(2)(A) A candidate or other person charged with the responsibility under this
subchapter for the filing of any reports or other documents required to be filed pursuant
to this subchapter who fails, neglects, or omits to file any such report or document at
the time and in the manner prescribed by law, or who omits or incorrectly states any of
the information required by law to be included in such report or document, in addition
to any other penalty provided by law, may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than
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$4,000 for the first offense and not more than $10,000 for the second and each
subsequent offense.

The allegations submitted by the Complainant are based upon representations candidate Brooke
Pinto made between March 3, and March 12, 2020, in which Ms. Pinto indicated that she had
opened her campaign headquarters at 1300 Q Street, NW. However, there were no subsequent
representations or confirmations that the headquarters was actually established at that location.
The fact that Ms. Pinto’s mother executed a four month lease for the property and apparently
agreed to the placing of balloons and signs promoting Ms. Pinto’s campaign on and around the
home on or about May 30, 2020, does not establish that the location was used as a headquarters
for Ms. Pinto’s campaign. In addition, the Complainant has not provided any evidence that 1300
Q Street, NW served as a headquarters or functioned in any capacity for the Pinto campaign.

While the Complainant has provided copies of emails candidate Brooke Pinto transmitted to
supporters announcing the headquarters at 1300 Q Street, NW, there are subsequent emails
cancelling all in-person activity and up-coming events due to the aggressive spread of COVID-19.
These emails provide a logical explanation of public health considerations for the Ms. Pinto’s
decision to abandon the idea of a physical headquarters at 1300 Q Street, NW.

Accordingly, the Committee does not have an obligation to report contributions it did not receive.

Therefore, absent any actual evidence that the property at 1300 Q Street, NW was utilized by the
Committee as a campaign headquarters in some capacity, the complaint cannot be sustained.

Recommendation

In view of the foregoing and information included in the record, I HEREBY

RECOMMEND that the Director Dismiss the Complaint in this matter.

09/25/2020 /s/
Date William O. SanFord
General Counsel

ORDER OF THE DIRECTOR

IT IS ORDERED that the Complaint in this matter is hereby Dismissed

09/25/2020 Cecily Collier-Montgomery

Date Cecily E. Collier-Montgomery
Director
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

THIS IS TO CERTIFY that a true copy of the ORDER has been served on Joseph
Gonzalez, Esq. via electronic mail to jgonzalez@schertlerlaw.com on this 25 day of September
2020.

Natasha Alexander

Notice

Any party adversely affected by an Order of the Director may: (1) file a Motion
for Reconsideration (Motion) with the OCF within five (5) days after receipt of an Order,
provided that, relevant evidence was omitted from consideration at the hearing (3 DCMR
§3709.13); or (2) obtain review of the Order by filing a request for a hearing de
novo with the Board of Elections within fifteen (15) days from the date of issuance of an
Order. Any fine imposed by the Director, pursuant to §3711.2 shall become effective on
the sixteenth (16th) day following the issuance of a decision or Order; provided that, the
Respondent does not request a hearing de novo with the Board of Elections. Fines
imposed shall be paid within ten (10) days of the effective date of the issued Order of the
Director. Make payment by check or money order, payable to: District of Columbia
Treasurer. Send payment to the Office of Campaign Finance, 1015 Half Street SE, Suite
775, Washington, DC 20003.