Deadline demolished: Illinois congressman violates federal financial disclosure law

CHICAGO — An Illinois congressman failed to report eight investments as required by federal financial disclosure law — as much as two-and-a-half years late in some cases, according to a Raw Story analysis of congressional records.

Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) is the latest lawmaker to violate the decade-old Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act by improperly reporting purchases of Myno Carbon Corp. stock through a family investment vehicle.

Total value: between $127,008 and $380,000.

The first stock purchase in the carbon removal company was made as far back as June 2021, and the latest was from May 2023, blowing past the STOCK Act’s 45-day deadline to publicly report most purchases, sales and exchanges of stocks, bonds, commodity futures, securities and cryptocurrencies. Lawmakers only need to disclose the values of their transactions in broad ranges.

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“These transactions were loans and equity investments made by Rep. Casten’s family investment firm, a company in which he holds a minority, non-controlling stake and has no active participation in,” Jacob Vurpillat, a spokesperson for Casten, told Raw Story. “Rep. Casten was unaware of the transactions until August 2023, at which point he proactively consulted with the House Ethics Committee to determine if they are subject to House financial disclosure rules.”

Casten disclosed the transactions “in the interest of providing as much transparency as possible to his constituents,” Vurpillat said, amending his 2021 and 2022 annual financial reports, along with filing a new transaction report on January 16.

The standard fine for violating the STOCK Act — which became a law in 2012 to stop insider trading, curb conflicts-of-interest and enhance transparency around the personal finances of key government officials — is $200. Often, the fee is waived by the House Committee on Ethics and Senate Select Committee on Ethics.

Vurpillat said Casten has not been assessed a late fee.

Casten serves on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and the House Financial Services Committee, including its subcommittees on capital markets; financial institutions and monetary policy; and digital assets, financial technology and inclusion.

“To be clear – Rep. Casten does not own individual stock, has not owned any during his time in Congress, and is a long-time supporter of the movement to ban members of Congress from trading individual stock,” Vurpillat told Raw Story via email.

Casten is a co-sponsor of the Ban Conflicted Trading Act, introduced in the 117th Congress.

Other similar bills aimed at banning congressional stock trading include the Ban Stock Trading for Government Officials Act, the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act, the TRUST in Congress Act and the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act.

Raw Story has found at least 40 members of the 118th Congress — including Casten — who have violated the STOCK Act.

Raw Story has also identified legislators whose stock investments pose potential conflicts of interest with their committee appointments, including Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Reps. Bill Keating (D-MA) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI).

During the 117th Congress from 2021 to 2022, at least 78 members of Congress — Democrats and Republicans alike — were found to have violated the STOCK Act’s disclosure provisions, according to a tally maintained by Business Insider.