Ward Returned $3,500 Stolen From Charlie Dent PAC

Former NRCC Treasurer Christopher J. Ward last month returned $3,500 stolen from Rep. Charlie Dent's (R-Texas) leadership PAC, bringing to more than $7,700 returned by Ward so far.

In a disclosure report filed with the Federal Election Commission today, Dent's PAC, Dedicated to Establishing Teamwork (DENT) PAC, reported receiving $3,500 from Ward on February 6. The contribution was classified as "repay misappropriated funds."

Ward also returned $4,208.78 on Feb. 5 and 8 to the JEB Fund, the leadership PAC of Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).

Today's filing by DENT PAC was the first disclosure that Dent had been victimized by Ward. Ward is under FBI investigation for allegedly embezzling "several hundred thousand" dollars from the National Republican Congressional Committee, and GOP insiders speculate that Ward may have diverted far more than that from other campaigns and committees he was affiliated with, perhaps as much as $1 million overall.

It is unclear why Ward returned the money to both Dent and Hensarling, and it's unclear if more funds will be returned. Neither GOP lawmaker announced before filing with the FEC that Ward had returned stolen money.

Dent's office has not returned calls and e-mails seeking comment at press time.