A former U.S. Representative has agreed to pay a civil penalty for personal use of campaign funds.  

Former Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y ., has reached a conciliation agreement with the Federal Election Commission for converting campaign funds to personal use. Towns agreed to pay a $5,000 civil penalty for using campaign funds to pay for a car lease on a vehicle used exclusively or primarily by his wife, Gwen Towns, for noncampaign-related personal activities. The Infiniti car was leased for at least 12 months at a cost of $600 per month.  

The case originated with a compliant made by the Campaign Legal Center. View the FEC notification letter , along with the original complaint  and Towns’ conciliation agreement .  

Towns served in Congress from 1983 until January 2013. He did not seek re-election in 2012. He was chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee from 2009 to 2011. During his career he raised $11.5 million, over half of it from PACs. View his campaign finance profile .