With Daniel Lippman

ASSOCIATE OF PROLIFIC SCAM PAC OPERATOR PLEADS GUILTY: A California man accused of helping operate a ring of phony political action committees and pilfering hundreds of thousands of dollars from unwitting donors pleaded guilty on Monday to his role in the scheme, the Justice Department announced today.

— Robert Reyes Jr., 40, pleaded guilty in the Western District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to cause false statements to the Federal Election Commission and one count of money laundering, authorities said. Reyes, along with Matt Tunstall and Kyle Davies were charged last November for the scheme, which focused on just two of the numerous so-called scam PACs Tunstall has been linked to.

— According to the department Reyes admitted that two PACs the men ran during the 2016 election raised around $3.5 million by making “false and misleading representations” in robocalls and written and radio ads soliciting donations meant to support either then-presidential candidates Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.

— Of that amount, prosecutors said, the two PACs distributed just $19 to “legitimate political causes,” while Reyes pocketed approximately $714,000. The department said Reyes admitted to running additional scam PACs after the 2016 election from which he received $95,000 “from false and misleading solicitations to donors.” As part of his plea, Reyes agreed to forfeit the nearly $810,000 he received as part of the…