Kender brought this to my attention. It appears Obama will go to any lengths to raise a little cash – even going so far as coming up with the latest Nigerian Scam.

This diary (that probably appeared today on the Obama campaign site) almost sounds like those emails you get that will give you half of some fortune squirrelled away by a Nigerian chief or government official if you only agree to accept all the money and put it in a bank. Of course, they want “good faith” money from you because they are taking a chance sending the whole bundle and trusting that you will do what you say. The English is better but the appeal is the same – they want to steal your money.

Of course, they say they will donate it to the Obama campaign but we know they won’t do that – it’s illegal:

We are gathering up to 4,000 people together for a fund raising to support OBAMA 08. The funds raised will be sent to the OBAMA campaign office as our own way of showing support for OBAMA since we are not eligible to vote as we are Nigerians based in Nigeria and not in America.

Time: Saturday, June 28 at 4:00 PM
Duration: 4 hours
Host: Fola Daniel
Contact Phone: 234-8059522444
Location: TRANSCORP HILTON HOTEL, ABUJA, NIGERIA (Abuja, VA)
ABUJA, NIGERIA
Abuja, VA 22003
View Map: Google Maps
MapQuest
Yahoo! Maps

Directions: From Abuja International airport, take airport taxi direct to the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. Nigeria

But the tipoff that these donations will not be coming from Americans is at the top. The diarist says “... since we are not eligible to vote as we are Nigerians based in Nigeria and not in America. It wouldn’t matter, of course, if they were Nigerians based on the moon. Federal Election law prevents them from contributing to Obama’s campaign.

From the FEC site:

The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) prohibits any foreign national from contributing, donating or spending funds in connection with any federal, state, or local election in the United States, either directly or indirectly. It is also unlawful to help foreign nationals violate that ban or to solicit, receive or accept contributions or donations from them. Persons who knowingly and willfully engage in these activities may be subject to fines and/or imprisonment.

Any Nigerian who donates will violate the law. The owner of this diary is breaking the law by publishing this. Then again, perhaps we should consider the possibility that this is indeed another Nigerian email scam. If so, maybe the campaign isn’t quite as flush as we thought.

Seriously, I am not accusing Obama of illegal fundraising because this is a diary and I’m sure that once they discover the problem, they will remove it. Or let’s hope they will anyway.