TREAT YO’SELF

Illinois Congressman’s Staffer Accused of Illegally Giving Himself $80K Bonus

According to court documents, Sterling Carter “fraudulently filled out, signed, and submitted unauthorized” Payroll Authorization Forms.

A former congressional staffer for House Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL) has been accused of giving himself over $80,ooo in unauthorized bonuses. Sterling Carter worked for Schneider as the Director of Operations from August 2019 to January 2021. According to a probable cause filing shared on Twitter by extremism researcher Seamus Hughes, Carter “fraudulently filled out, signed, and submitted unauthorized” Payroll Authorization Forms. In Nov. 2019, Carter allegedly submitted an illegitimate form to temporarily bump his annual salary from $54,000 to $138,000, which resulted in a $6,000 bonus for the month. Court documents allege he did it again the next month, setting his salary at $126,000. He allegedly kept collecting the monthly bonus until January 2021, totaling an additional $74,491.67.