Milwaukee Ald., Senate candidate charged with theft, fraud

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By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Chantia Lewis, a minister, member of the Milwaukee City Council and a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, was charged Tuesday with four felonies and one misdemeanor for allegedly stealing at least $21,000 from her campaign fund and lying about it.

The charges were filed by the Milwaukee County district attorney’s office. Lewis was first elected to the Milwaukee City Council in 2016 and announced her candidacy for Senate in July. She is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 29.

Lewis has no immediate comment on the charges. A campaign spokeswoman did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Lewis is one of 11 Democratic candidates in the Senate race for the seat currently held by Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.

According to the complaint against Lewis, she filed false campaign finance reports related to her campaigns for City Council. She deposited campaign funds into her personal bank accounts and used campaign money to pay for personal expenses, the complaint said.

Lewis, 41, also falsely represented to the City of Milwaukee that she was owed travel reimbursement for expenses incurred while doing city business, when she had paid for those expanses out of her campaign account, the complaint said.

She violated state campaign finance laws by filing false reports, structuring a campaign contribution to avoid contribution limits and illegally used campaign funds for personal use, the complaint said. She defrauded the City of Milwaukee and her campaign of at least $21,666, the complaint says.

The felony charges were for misconduct in office between 2016 and 2020, intentionally filing a false campaign report, embezzlement of more than $10,000, and intentionally making an unlawful distribution from her campaign finance account.

Three of the felony charges are punishable by up to a $10,000 fine and 3 1/2 years in prison while the embezzlement charge is punishable with a fine up to $25,000 and 10 years in prison.

She also faces a misdemeanor fraud charge punishable by up to nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Lewis, in her Senate campaign launch video, touted her service in the U.S. Air Force, her current work as a pastor and her 2016 election to the Milwaukee City Council.

“All my life I’ve been told what I can’t do,” she said, walking through the streets of Milwaukee.

Other Democrats running for Senate include Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes; state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski; Milwaukee Bucks vice president Alex Lasry; and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.