Jocelyn Benson’s Campaign Caught Red-Handed Using “Smurf” Donors to Funnel Illegally Obtained Funds
Guest post by investigative reporter Bob Cushman, Founder of Freedom Press LLC
Recently, the Detroit Free Press published an article discussing the Secretary of State/Candidate for Michigan Governor’s campaign fundraising. It stated:
“In the early days of Michigan’s 2026 governor’s race, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has amassed the largest campaign war chest so far.
“This historic haul shows that Michiganders are ready for Jocelyn Benson to be the next governor,” said Benson’s campaign manager Nikki Goldschein. Benson has brought in over $4.7 million for her campaign since launching it, more than any other candidate vying to replace Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who cannot run again due to term limits.
Benson’s fund includes over $570,000 she previously raised while running for secretary of state.”
“Benson raised over $1.2 million in the most recent quarter for the fundraising period covering July 21 through Oct. 20. She ended with almost $3 million cash on hand.”
Jocelyn Benson recently issued a campaign statement that said:
“With over 35,000 donations, 94% of them $100 or less, and no corporate PAC money, Benson’s campaign reflects the most grassroots momentum of anyone in the race. “
In the following analysis, we will examine the validity, hidden reasons and true causal factors of the above statement.
“Follow The Money”
This investigative journalist decided that it is time to “Follow The Money” of Jocelyn Benson’s attempt to rule Michigan as Governor until January of 2031.
The quote is “Follow the money,” which was popularized by the 1976 movie All the President’s Men. In the film, the character Deep Throat (played by Hal Holbrook) tells the journalist Bob Woodward (played by Robert Redford) to “follow the money” to uncover the truth behind the Watergate scandal.
49.6 % of the donations and 45% of the money comes from Out of State!
In order to make some sense of the millions reportedly flowing into Benson’s war chest, the Michigan Campaign Finance Searchable Database was consulted.
My initial results are as stated below:
All donations to Jocelyn Bensons committees (JOCELYN BENSON FOR GOVERNOR and JOCELYN BENSON FOR SECRETARY OF STATE) since the November 8, 2022 election resulted in a total of $ 5,581,032. The total that came from “out of Michigan” amounted to $2,532,256. This means that 45% of the money to elect Benson to the highest office in Michigan came from “Out of State”!
All of the donations received by Jocelyn Benson since the November 8th, 2022, election can be viewed HERE.
Further parsing of the massive amount of data reveals the amazing number of 42,092 donations subsequent to the November 2022 election. 20,864 of these donations came from “Out of State”.
This means that 49.6 % of the donations and 45% of the money to elect Jocelyn Benson to the highest office in the state of Michigan comes from elsewhere!
Question:
How is it feasible that so many persons outside of the state of Michigan (almost half of all donations) would be financially invested in determining Michigan’s future?
Answer:
Massive Money Laundering! Massive money laundering is described in detail in the article HERE.
Examples of money laundering using “smurfs” are as follows:
1. Robert Ahronheim – Ann Arbor MI – Benson Smurf
Notice how Robert allegedly donated exactly $5.00 every month from October 2023 through September of 2024 on exactly the 23rd of each month to the Benson SOS committee.
Notice how Robert donated exactly $5.00 eight different donations on March 3, 2025, to the Jocelyn Benson for Governor committee.