Former Senate hopeful hit with finance charges

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Jayanthan Bala, a Republican who unsuccessfully challenged Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton (D-Charles) in the 2006 election, has been charged with failing to file timely campaign finance updates between August 2007 and March 2009.

Six charges have also been filed against Bala's wife, Dr. Nirmaladevi Jayanthan, the treasurer of the Americans Vote 4 Jay Bala campaign committee. The charges were filed through criminal summonses rather than arrest warrants. If convicted, the maximum sentence is a year in jail and a $25,000 fine for each count.

According to the state prosecutor's office, warnings were sent to the committees that had not filed the reports before the charges were issued.

"We send notices out in every case," said Shelly S. Glenn, senior assistant state prosecutor. "We waited well over six months this time [before filing charges]."

However, when contacted Monday, both Bala and Jayanthan were on vacation and said they had not heard of the charges. Jayanthan said she did not receive any communication from the state prior to the charges.

"There's no activity," Jayanthan said of the campaign's finances. She said the campaign has not been active since 2006.

But according to Glenn, candidates must continue to file financial reports until the campaign is closed. If a campaign has any cash left over, the money must be donated to charity.

"You have to disburse that money legally," Glenn said.

According to the last Bala campaign report filed in January 2007, the campaign still had $15,343.95 in the bank, but it also had a $99,750 loan.

The prosecutor's office records, Glenn said, show that the Bala campaign was issued four show cause orders by the Maryland Board of Elections between March and July of 2008, asking for updated campaign reports. Glenn also said that the campaign was referred to her office for charges once before in 2007.

The rash of charges filed by the prosecutor's office targeted 40 campaign finance committees and 77 individuals of both parties. When asked how strenuously she planned to prosecute the charges, Glenn said, "I treat every case on an individual basis."

State election law requires all campaign finance committees to have a chairman and a treasurer and to file finance reports with the Maryland Board of Elections. The reports pertain to money raised and spent during the period covered by the report.

Deadline dates for the campaign finance reports vary for different campaigns. For example, a candidate with a continuing committee must file an annual report by the third Wednesday in January; a first pre-primary report by the fourth Tuesday before the primary election; a second pre-primary report by the second Friday before the primary election; a pre-general election report by the second Friday before a general election; and a post-general election report by the third Tuesday after a general election.

Staff writer C. Benjamin Ford contributed to this report.

jfriess@somdnews.com