Bernie Moreno
RepublicanU.S. Senator, OH| Age | 59 (b. 1967-02-14) |
| Gender | Male |
| In office since | 2025-01-03 (~1 yrs) |
| Race / ethnicity | Hispanic/Latino (Colombian American) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Education | Pinecrest Academy, Florida (1985); B.A./B.B.A. in business, University of Michigan (1989). His campaign acknowledged that biographical materials and a 2011 dealership application falsely claimed he held an MBA from Michigan; the university confirmed he received only a bachelor's degree. |
| Prior occupation | Auto dealership owner/executive (Collection Auto Group / Bernie Moreno Companies, more than a dozen dealerships in Ohio and elsewhere); earlier worked for General Motors/Saturn; later founded blockchain technology company Ownum |
| Military service | No |
| Birthplace | Bogotá, Colombia (foreign-born) |
| Languages | English; Spanish (native, born in Colombia) |
| Marital status | Married — Bridget Brickley |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence | Westlake, Ohio |
| Notable relatives | Brother Luis Alberto Moreno, former Colombian Ambassador to the U.S. and former president of the Inter-American Development Bank; cousin Lina Moreno de Uribe, former First Lady of Colombia |
Pending research: openly lgbtq.
Career & politics
| First elected | 2024 |
| Committees | Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs · Budget · Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs |
| Party history | Republican. Was a sharp public critic of Donald Trump in 2016 (called him a 'lunatic' and said he voted for Marco Rubio in the primary) but became a Trump ally and endorsee by 2023-2024; no party affiliation switch reported. |
| Ideology | Conservative Republican; pro-Trump; described as a hardline conservative on immigration and a cryptocurrency advocate |
| Signature legislation | Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 (S.3283) - would require dual citizens to renounce other citizenship |
Financial
Net worth: disclosed $44,151,065–$250,028,996 (2024) · estimate
| Unimproved land, Sunbury, Ohio | real_estate · $5,000,001–$25,000,000 · 2024 |
| Home, Ocean Reef, Florida | real_estate · $5,000,001–$25,000,000 · 2024 |
| Condo, Coconut Grove, Florida | real_estate · $5,000,001–$25,000,000 · 2024 |
| Additional unimproved land, Sunbury, Ohio | real_estate · $5,000,001–$25,000,000 · 2024 |
| M Motors Group, Inc. (non-public corporate securities) | business_owned · $5,000,001–$25,000,000 · 2024 |
Top donors: Defend American Jobs (cryptocurrency-affiliated super PAC, tied to Fairshake/Coinbase/Ripple) (More than $40 million in outside spending supporting his 2024 campaign)
Top industries: Cryptocurrency/digital assets · Securities & investment · Real estate · Automotive · Retired
Scandals & crimes ledger
resolved — Employment discrimination lawsuits settled out of court business
Per an Associated Press review, three discrimination suits were filed in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Cara Wilson (2015) alleged gender discrimination against Moreno and Bernie Moreno Companies (BMC). Dolores Wolfe (2017), age 67, alleged gender and age discrimination against Moreno and BMC. Ronell Thompson (2017), who is Black, alleged racial discrimination against BMC subsidiary M9 Motors (Moreno not personally named). All three were settled out of court with confidential terms; some were partly against business entities Moreno owned (BMC / M9 Motors), so is_business_entity is set true. Wilson and Wolfe later publicly supported Moreno's Senate campaign.
settled — Discrimination Civil Lawsuit Settlements — BMC / Bernie Moreno Companies (Cuyahoga County) business
The Associated Press found three employment discrimination lawsuits filed against Bernie Moreno Companies (BMC) in Cuyahoga County between 2015 and 2017 alleging gender discrimination, racial discrimination with wrongful termination, and combined age and gender discrimination against a senior saleswoman. All three were settled out of court under confidential terms; no court adjudicated liability.
resolved — Wage theft jury verdict and document-shredding sanction (Massachusetts)
Omar Adem, a former salesperson at Moreno's Mercedes-Benz dealership in Burlington, Massachusetts, sued in 2017 alleging unpaid overtime. The case was brought against Moreno personally. After Moreno admitted in a May 2021 deposition to shredding overtime documents in late 2020 despite a preservation order, the judge sanctioned him and instructed the jury it could consider the destroyed evidence. In August 2022 a jury awarded the plaintiffs approximately $416,160. Moreno separately settled 14 of 16 related wage lawsuits in January 2023 (one withdrawn, one dismissed for non-appearance).
final judgment — Civil Judgment for Unpaid Overtime — Adem v. M11 Motors LLC / Bernardo Moreno business
In 2017, former Mercedes-Benz Burlington (M11 Motors LLC) salesperson Omar Adem and a second employee sued Moreno's company for failure to pay overtime wages required under Massachusetts law. A jury found for the plaintiffs and the court entered a judgment of $416,160 covering unpaid overtime, treble damages, and legal fees. Moreno publicly disputed the verdict and characterized the state law as retroactively applied, a claim fact-checkers rated false.
sanction imposed — Court Sanction for Spoliation of Evidence — M11 Motors / Moreno Overtime Litigation business
While the overtime wage litigation (Adem v. M11 Motors) was pending, Moreno admitted in a May 2021 deposition that he had destroyed paper monthly reports containing overtime data in late 2020 — records the court had implicitly required him to preserve. Justice Ricciuti formally sanctioned the defendants, writing that 'where negligently or intentionally, the Defendants lost or destroyed evidence that they were required to preserve,' and instructed the jury it could draw an adverse inference against Moreno from the missing evidence.