A scheme by a Los Angeles developer to funnel money to the Villaraigosa reelection campaign was not only discovered; it resulted in a maximum fine of more than ten times the total illicit donation.

The penalty was agreed to on Tuesday after the ethics commission declared the violation of the city’s campaign finance limits to be one of the most egregious affronts of the law they’ve ever encountered.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission on Tuesday fined a Koreatown developer $183,750 — the maximum penalty allowed — for his role in an alleged money laundering scheme carried out in support of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s reelection campaign.

The Ethics Commission determined that Alexander Hugh collected $1,000 checks for Villaraigosa’s campaign from 18 contributors and then reimbursed each of those donors. That effort violated the city’s fund-raising law, which limits such donations to no more than $1,000 to a citywide candidate.

Read the full article here.