Washington, D.C. – Reps. Jerrold Nadler, Elijah E. Cummings, Frank Pallone Jr., and Adam Schiff, the Chairmen of the Committees on the Judiciary, Oversight and Reform, Energy and Commerce, and Intelligence, sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker seeking full compliance with their prior request regarding his involvement with World Patent Marketing, after new records indicated he failed to return thousands of dollars that would have been distributed to the victims of the company’s alleged scam.

“On November 14, 2018, as the incoming Chairmen of the four House Committees of jurisdiction, we sent a letter requesting that you produce eight categories of documents relating to your work on behalf of World Patent Marketing and your communications with Scott Cooper, the company’s CEO and founder,” the Chairmen wrote.  “To date, you have failed to respond to that letter or provide a single document that we requested.  Since that time, we have obtained new documents showing that you failed to return thousands of dollars that were supposed to be distributed to the victims of World Patent Marketing’s alleged fraud, despite your involvement with Mr. Cooper in handling complaints from individuals of the company’s actions.”

New records obtained by the Committees show:

• DESA Industries, Inc. (d/b/a World Patent Marketing) paid Mr. Whitaker $9,375 from October 2014 through February 2016 for his services as a World Patent Marketing Advisory Board member.

• Despite the World Patent Marketing Receiver’s demand that Mr. Whitaker returns these funds so that they could be distributed to consumers as part of the action enjoining the alleged fraud, he has not repaid the funds.

The Chairmen also sent a letter to the Justice Department’s Designated Agency Ethics Officer, Lee Lofthus, requesting documents regarding Acting Attorney General Whitaker’s participation in reversing the position of the Department on online gambling, given unusual campaign donations Mr. Whitaker’s campaign received from casino executives more than three years after his senatorial campaign had concluded.

Click here to see the letter to Acting Attorney General Whitaker.   

Click here to see the letter to Designated Agency Ethics Officer Lofthus.

Click here to see the wire transfers from DESA Industries Inc. to Matthew Whitaker PC Account.

Click here to see the letter from Counsel for the Receiver to Acting Attorney General Whitaker.

Click here to see the email from Counsel for the Receiver to Staff, Committee on Oversight and Reform.