The FRM Ponzi scheme may have been the first significant sign of trouble for former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte in the New Hampshire Senate race. Which means that two weeks before the primary, with the state's biggest paper endorsing another candidate, she can't be happy about this:
Former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte failed to have internal procedures to alert her to “a series of criminal and civil complaints” about a Lakes Region Ponzi scheme, a draft legislative report concluded Tuesday.
Ayotte, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, denied any knowledge of this scandal involving Financial Resources Mortgage Inc. before FRM filed for bankruptcy protection in November.
“The attorney general must implement internal practices to ensure that he or she is briefed when a series of criminal and consumer complaints come to the office against a particular bad actor,” concludes the draft done for the House and Senate commerce committees investigating the FRM matter.
The report draft is making headlines across the state and has already been jumped on by one of Ayotte's primary opponents:
In a statement, Republican candidate Bill Binnie said, "Once again Kelly Ayotte has been criticized for her handling of this Ponzi scheme, the largest fraud in New Hampshire history. And once again the victims, many of whom lost their life savings, and the taxpayers of New Hampshire await a credible explanation of her failure to act."
Just a couple months ago, Ayotte looked like a clear and easy winner in the primary. She still has to be considered the favorite, but it's shaping up to be a lot tougher than expected -- and that's a bright spot for Democrats.