NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Where did Congressman Andy Ogles get $320,000 that he claims to have loaned his campaign?
As NewsChannel 5 Investigates followed the money involving Middle Tennessee's newest member of Congress, that investigation turned up even more questions about the Maury County Republican.
Ogles made the dramatic claim in reports filed with the Federal Election Commission during the 2022 campaign, raising eyebrows among some because the former Maury County mayor had never been seen as a person of great wealth.
Now in Congress, NewsChannel 5 Investigates discovered that Ogles has not disclosed any substantial investments.
He doesn't even report having a savings account.
"I think the biggest question is, where did this money come from?" It's not clear from his financial disclosure reports where he got the money for this loan," said Danielle Caputo, legal counsel for ethics with the Washington-based Campaign Legal Center.
From the beginning of his campaign for Congress, Ogles was dogged by questions about his fundraising claims, with even conservative media noting that he was three days late filing his first campaign finance report, then six days late, still not filing it seven days past the filing deadline.
Talk radio was skeptical of Ogles' excuses.
"There were, quote, issues retrieving bank records," Tennessee Star political editor Aaron Gulbransen recounted during one conversation.
Host Michael Patrick Leahy was incredulous.
"You're kidding me! That's not a credible statement. Issues retrieving bank statements? I mean, this is 2022."
Ogles had kicked off his campaign claiming he had raised $453,000 in the first 30 days.
But when the report was eventually filed, he had only raised $254,000.
Ogles also reported he personally loaned $320,000 to his campaign, supposedly giving himself a formidable war chest.
But the only assets listed on Ogles' personal financial disclosures, which are required by law for U.S. House members, were an investment property, as well as three retirement accounts held by the congressman and his wife.
Missing from Ogles' report is any reference to any bank accounts or other assets of more than a thousand dollars, which must be disclosed.
"It definitely raises big questions as to where that money came from," the CLC's Danielle Caputo said. "How was he able to loan it because currently his financial disclosure reports are not showing that sort of wealth that he could easily lend that money."
It's a transparency issue that's been highlighted by the George Santos case.
A recent indictment accuses the New York congressman of falsely reporting that he had loaned his committee "significant sums of money," when he "had not made the reported loans and, in fact, did not have the funds necessary to make such loans at the time."
Santos did it, the indictment says, "for the purpose of making the committee appear more financially sound than it was."
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked the campaign finance expert: "For watchdogs like yourself, is there any way to tell where this money came from?"
"Currently, no," Caputo said. "So it definitely begs the question of, is there something that's just missing from the financial disclosure report? Is there something that we'll see later, maybe he just forgot to include it?"
On the other hand, Ogles' personal financial disclosures show personal loans that include a home mortgage from Interfirst and a line of credit from Bancorp South. (The name of the bank was misspelled on Ogles' disclosure.)
Property records show that line of credit was dropped in February 2022.
But NewsChannel 5 Investigates discovered documents showing a $700,000 line of credit taken out last year from FirstBank that listed his in-laws on the note.
Ogles did not disclose that loan on his personal financial disclosure filed with the U.S. House.
"So this seems to be a pretty big question mark as to why it was not included in his financial disclosure report because it doesn't seem to be any reason why it was not," Caputo said.
This all follows questions raised earlier this year by NewsChannel 5 Investigates about how Ogles inflated his educational credentials and business experience.
Then we uncovered evidence about a GoFundMe where Ogles raised money for a children's burial garden that was never built, raking in almost $25,000.
Ogles has not released any evidence of what he did with the money.
As for the money that Ogles supposedly loaned his own campaign and the line of credit he failed to disclose, Caputo said "the public has a right to know what your financial obligations are."
"There's definitely, I think, a lot more questions raised by these financial disclosure reports than are answered by them."
Ogles did not respond to an email sent to his office, nor a text message to his personal cell phone.
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story stated that Ogles had initially claimed to have raised $435,000 for his campaign. He actually claimed to have raised $453,000. Danielle Caputo's name was misspelled, as well.
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