Elon Musk’s PAC says it’s verifying voters for its cash giveaway, but Pa. AG’s office is reviewing complaints over unsolicited checks
The complaints come as Elon Musk's America PAC doubles down on "actively ensuring" the validity of recipients of the petition's cash prizes.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General Office’s Bureau of Consumer Protection has received approximately 20 complaints statewide regarding unsolicited and unwanted $100 checks that appear to be from Elon Musk’s pro-Donald Trump America PAC, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said Tuesday.
The nature of the complaints will determine the next steps in how the bureau, a division of Attorney General Michelle Henry’s office, will proceed, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, America PAC is claiming on a newly posted “FAQs & Payment Program Updates” page for the petition that individuals who participated in the cash-prize program were thoroughly evaluated for eligibility.
An increasing number of Pennsylvanians from various counties have told The Inquirer in recent weeks that they have received a $100 check in the mail without signing the super PAC’s First and Second Amendment petition, a necessary step for those who wanted to participate in the PAC’s “special offer” for Pennsylvania registered voters ahead of Election Day.
In total, The Inquirer has learned of at least 18 individuals who say they have received a check without signing the petition or without knowledge of friends or family members signing them up. Images provided to The Inquirer so far show the checks adorned with one of several dates: Oct. 29, Nov. 1, Nov. 2, or Nov. 4. Some recipients — most are Democrats — said they received the money before Election Day, while others recalled finding it in the mail in the days after. Individuals were still receiving checks during the week of Thanksgiving.
Patricia Domyan, 64, said she has received six unsolicited checks, the most recent arriving at her home in Allentown on Saturday. Domyan was a Republican until around the 2016 election, when she registered with the Democratic Party.
The checks include an address from “United States of America Inc.,” which is the name of a holding company Musk established in early October. America PAC confirms on the petition FAQ page that “United States of America Inc.” is processing checks on behalf of America PAC. The checks also include the words “America PAC Petition” on the memo line.
The FAQ page does not address questions regarding individuals who believe they have mistakenly received a check. However, the page emphasizes that America PAC is doing its due diligence to verify signers’ identity.
“To protect the legality and integrity of the program, America PAC has been actively ensuring that checks are made payable to only eligible referrers and petition signers. As a result, some payments are under further review and have not yet been issued,” according to the FAQ page.
Individuals who signed the petition were supposed to receive their cash prizes by Nov. 30.
“America PAC has already mailed the overwhelming majority of checks owed to eligible referrers and petition signers,” according to the page, but there could be delays due to further confirmation of a signer’s validity or slowdowns in the postal system.
America PAC has not responded to several requests for comment about the checks during the last month.
Alyce Bergbower, a Democrat from North Wales, also received a $100 check on Nov. 30 without signing the petition. She said she has voted in every election in Pennsylvania since relocating from New York in 2010.
“I do support the First and Second Amendments personally, but I thought there was some sort of catch to such a petition coming from Trump and Musk,” she said.
The petition was one of Musk’s several efforts to help deliver a red wave and Pennsylvania for Trump, the president-elect, in November. Other initiatives from the billionaire include town halls across the commonwealth, a “war room” in Pittsburgh, and donating millions of dollars to America PAC.
Most recipients of the check said they would not cash it as a protest to Musk’s work, but some have considered donating the proceeds to charities, like the American Civil Liberties Union, that have ramped up efforts to fight Trump’s future agenda.
But Musk has been rewarded for his time, money, and effort, having been appointed a colead of the proposed “Department of Government Efficiency,” a commission that is supposed to provide guidance from outside the government to reduce government spending and waste, though the specifics of the project remain largely unclear.