The 16 politicians who promised in February to donate at least some of the money given to their campaigns by Ohio billionaire Les Wexner kept that promise, campaign finance records show.
Wexner was the focus of renewed scrutiny over his longtime friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein earlier this year as President Donald Trump's administration was pressured to release investigative documents related to Epstein dubbed "The Epstein Files." A flood of Democrat and Republican politicians declared their intent to donate the equivalent dollar amount of past contributions from Wexner to nonprofits and charities, citing his connections to Epstein.
In total, more than $220,000 was donated by 16 politicians.
The donations ranged from U.S. Sen. Jon Husted to Columbus City Council Members Emmanuel Remy and Shannon Hardin.
Congressmembers Joyce Beatty, Mike Carey and Troy Balderson donated as well as current and former state leaders like Ohio Auditor Keith Faber, Treasurer Robert Sprague and former Attorney General Dave Yost.
All three Franklin County Commissioners, John O'Grady, Erica Crawley and Kevin Boyce donated funds as well as Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano.
Ohio General Assembly members including Senators Michele Reynolds, Beth Liston and Rob McColley, a candidate for Ohio lieutenant governor, also donated the money they said they would.
Several politicians, however, chose not to donate thousands of dollars in funds given to their campaign by Wexner, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno.
Freedom a la Cart, a nonprofit cafe, bakery and caterer located in downtown Columbus received the most donations. The donated funds totaled more than $30,000, which mostly came from Beatty and Carey.
The nonprofit's CEO Paula Haines told WOSU the money will go a long way in helping to provide support services to survivors of sex trafficking. The cafe also employs sex trafficking survivors, helping women find their footing with a stable job.
"When our government leaders choose to invest back into survivor-centered work and show dignity to survivors, that is a strong statement that we support," Haines said.
Haines also said this statement goes a long way in helping the nonprofit, which like many other charities is seeing less donations.
"(The money will) provide wages to survivors, provide resource development and connecting them with resources, to provide counseling, all of those things come with increased funding," Haines said.
Freedom a la Cart was founded in 2011 and opened its brick-and-mortar cafe on Spring Street in 2021. Since then, Haines said they've helped thousands of sex trafficking survivors.
"Over the course of our existence, it's been thousands, but we've helped over 150 women through employment and through our job training," Haines said.
The Epstein investigation has become one of the most high profile cases of human trafficking because of Epstein's connections to wealthy and influential people including the United Kingdom's Prince Andrew, Wexner, former President Bill Clinton and Trump.
Epstein managed Wexner's vast fortune for years. Wexner, who is Ohio's richest man, built his empire through retail. Wexner claims Epstein stole millions from him leading up to Epstein's 2008 arrest and conviction on charges that he solicited sex from a minor.
Epstein later died by suicide in 2019 when he was in prison while under investigation for running a sex trafficking operation. Epstein's partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, was later convicted on charges that she helped Epstein traffic underage girls.
Some of the Epstein Files named Wexner as Epstein's "co-conspirator," but he has never faced criminal charges.
Several other nonprofits, charities and community organizations benefitted. These included, among others, Lutheran Social Services, the Mid Ohio Food Collective, Canal Winchester Human Services, the Pickaway County Farm Bureau, Safe Harbor Ohio, Gracehaven and the Findlay Hope House.
Haines pointed out that while DeWine and Ginther didn't return Wexner's donations, the two have provided financial support to Freedom a la Cart through local and state funding. The nonprofit works with a $4 million budget annually, 23% which comes from state, federal and local grants.
All of these donations were verified by WOSU through campaign finance records except for Remy's.
Remy donated $5,000 on Friday to 1DivineLine2Health, an organization helping sex trafficking survivors in west Columbus. The organization confirmed to WOSU it received that donation from Remy when asked on Monday.
“I have donated the full $5,000 unsolicited contribution I received from Les Wexner to 1DivineLine2Health, an organization whose work supporting women impacted by human trafficking I have long admired. Esther Flores’ dedication to meeting women where they are and helping them find safety, dignity and hope is extraordinary. I’m grateful these funds can now support that important work in our community," Remy said in a statement Monday.
Faber, who is running for Ohio Attorney General, initially promised to donate $15,000 in February, but a first batch of donations in March totaled only $12,500. Faber's campaign made another $2,500 donation to Gracehaven in April.
Some politicians, like Husted and Hardin, didn't donate the exact total they received from Wexner over the years. Others, like Reynolds, also donated money they received from Wexner's wife, Abigail Wexner.
