California Young Democrats' Bank Accounts Frozen in Kinde Durkee Fraud Case

By Peter Jamison Thu., Sep. 22 2011 at 10:02 AM

Categories: Politics

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The California Young Democrats are appealing to supporters for financial assistance after discovering that they cannot access their operating funds, which were handled by a Democratic campaign treasurer now facing fraud charges.

Federal and state authorities are investigating the treasurer, Kinde Durkee, for embezzling hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of dollars from Democratic elected officials including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and California Assemblyman Jose Solorio.

In a statement e-mailed to Democrats in the state this week and posted on the organization's website, California Young Democrats President Jennifer Longley asked for individual donations of $25, $50, or $100. "Any amount will be helpful as we deal with this crippling situation," she said.

The statement reads, in part:

In the wake of Kinde Durkee's arrest for fraud, CYD's bank accounts have been frozen. We cannot access them, and we don't know if there is any money in them to access.

This could not have come at a worse time. The money CYD had set aside to meet our operating expenses, including staff salary, caucus projects and the down payment money needed for our Biennial statewide organizing retreat in Tahoe, is gone -- either unreachable or missing.

Forget about the emptied campaign war chests of prominent Democratic politicians. When the Young Dems' Tahoe retreat is in peril, you know things are bad.

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