Vern Buchanan

Venice Nissan (1099 LC) and its representative Donald M. Caldwell entered into a conciliation agreement with the FEC in August 2010 admitting to arranging illegal conduit contributions to Vern Buchanan for Congress in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act. Buchanan held an ownership interest in this dealership. The file was closed upon agreement.

CREW filed an FEC complaint in 2008 alleging that employees of three car dealerships in which Buchanan held ownership interests were reimbursed for contributions to Vern Buchanan for Congress in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (2 U.S.C. §§441f and 441a). The FEC issued a Reason to Believe finding against the Vern Buchanan for Congress committee and assessed a $5,000 civil penalty, which was paid. The FEC declined to find that Buchanan personally directed or was aware of the scheme, and closed the file with no further action.

The FEC filed suit in December 2010 against Sam Kazran and 11-2001 LLC d/b/a Hyundai of North Jacksonville — a dealership in which Buchanan owned a majority stake until 2008 — for arranging $67,900 in illegal conduit contributions to Vern Buchanan for Congress across the 2006 and 2008 election cycles. Kazran admitted to arranging the reimbursements and claimed Buchanan directed him to do so; Buchanan denied knowledge. A default judgment was entered against the LLC on March 8, 2012. The FEC closed the investigation of Buchanan personally with no further action, citing insufficient evidence he directed the scheme.

Employees of three car dealerships partly owned by Rep. Buchanan were unlawfully reimbursed more than $90,000 for contributions to Buchanan's 2006 and 2008 congressional campaigns. The FEC sued Buchanan's former business partner Sam Kazran and Hyundai of North Jacksonville in December 2010, resulting in a fine of approximately $68,000. The House Ethics Committee, after a multi-year investigation also examined by the OCE and DOJ, issued a June 2016 report concluding the dealerships had violated campaign finance law but that there was insufficient evidence Buchanan himself was aware of the illegal reimbursements when made. Buchanan was cleared of personal wrongdoing but cautioned to exercise greater diligence over campaign affairs.

Suncoast Ford (10-2002 LLC), a car dealership in which Buchanan held an ownership interest, and its representative Gary J. Scarbrough entered into pre-probable cause conciliation agreements with the FEC in December 2011 for arranging illegal conduit contributions to Vern Buchanan for Congress in violation of 2 U.S.C. §§441f and 441a(a). The LLC was fined $7,000 and Scarbrough was fined $8,500.

Following OCE referrals, the House Ethics Committee opened a formal investigation in 2012 into allegations that (1) Buchanan's car dealerships illegally reimbursed employees for campaign contributions, and (2) Buchanan attempted to induce former business partner Sam Kazran to sign a false affidavit for the FEC in exchange for a $2.9 million settlement. After a four-year inquiry, the Committee issued House Report 114-643 in June 2016 finding insufficient evidence to conclude Buchanan personally violated House rules, while formally noting that the associated dealerships did engage in illegal reimbursements. The Committee issued a formal caution but took no disciplinary action.

The FEC assessed a $9,242 administrative fine against Vern Buchanan for Congress (committee ID C00412759, treasurer David T. Meredith) for failing to timely file a required 48-hour notification report during the 2024 election cycle. The initial fine was assessed on March 3, 2025, upheld following review on May 9, 2025, and paid in full by the June 12, 2025 due date.