Royce White, a former NBA star-turned-GOP political candidate, was recently accused of misusing more than $100k in campaign funds on strip club visits and basketball app purchases, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The shocking revelation this week came nearly two years after White unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Minnesota.
While the candidate failed to make it past the state’s 2022 primary, he recently received the GOP’s endorsement to take on Democrat Amy Klobuchar for the Senate in November.
But flash forward to this week, and The Daily Beast discovered that White allegedly shelled out more than $100k in campaign funds for several questionable purchases back in 2022 – including at least one $1,200 purchase toward an all-nude strip club in Miami, Florida called Gold Rush Cabaret.
According to the outlet, a review of White’s 2022 primary campaign reports also uncovered “numerous items that boggled legal experts.”
While the $1,200 expense at the Miami strip club certainly raised eyebrows, there were also several alleged purchases that totaled more than $100,000 in “mysterious wire transfers and checks reported as paid to the campaign.”
Some of those mysterious expenses allegedly included “hefty tabs at spicy nightspots,” “getaways at posh hotels in at least seven states,” “thousands of dollars in limousine services,” and “unexplained cash withdrawals.”
The Daily Beast reported that other alleged expenses included “eye-popping purchases from electronics, sporting goods, clothing, and musical instrument retailers” as well as several purchases toward the “DribbleUp smart basketball training app” that White himself reportedly admitted “might be personal use.”
Brendan Fischer, a specialist in campaign finance law, indicated that White could potentially face criminal charges if the allegations against him are proven to be legitimate.
“We’re not talking about small stuff,” Fischer, who also serves as deputy director of the watchdog group Documented, explained. “This takes us well outside the realm of FEC fines.”
“This looks a lot like the kind of thing that people go to jail for,” he added.
Meanwhile, White dismissed the potential severity of the allegations against him and challenged the Federal Election Commission to “fine” his 2022 congressional campaign for the suspected financial discrepancies.
Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.
“If the FEC wants to fine us, that’s completely fine,” White told The Daily Beast on Thursday. “There are much bigger scams with political campaigns.”
As RadarOnline.com previously noted, the revelation that White may have misused more than $100k in campaign funds two years ago came just days after the GOP endorsed the former NBA star for Minnesota’s upcoming senatorial election.
“The reality is we need people now more than ever that can’t be bought,” White said earlier this week after he received the Minnesota GOP’s endorsement.
“They don’t have a price,” he added shortly before the fresh allegations against him came to light, “and I can’t stress that to you enough.”