Grassroots Laundering: How Elite Money Flows Through Working Families Party Network

/ 21 minutes of reading

When government grants flow to charitable organizations that transfer funds to political advocacy groups supporting specific candidates, is this legitimate community organizing or sophisticated financial engineering? When the same individual controls multiple supposedly independent entities across this funding chain, are we witnessing grassroots democracy or elite manipulation disguised as popular power?

What if the grassroots political movements reshaping American cities aren’t grassroots at all?

This investigation exposes how the Working Families Party has perfected what can only be described as grassroots laundering—the systematic conversion of elite wealth and taxpayer funds into the appearance of authentic working-class political power. Like greenwashing allows corporations to appear environmentally responsible while engaging in harmful practices, grassroots laundering allows elite-funded political operations to appear as authentic popular movements while maintaining coordinated control through shared addresses, personnel, payroll systems, and decision-making authority.

This investigation applies a fundamental principle of forensic analysis: substance over form. While these organizations maintain separate legal structures, their operational reality—shared governance, overlapping personnel, coordinated financial transfers—reveals a unified political machine designed to deceive voters about who actually controls their political choices.

The evidence reveals a sophisticated operation where taxpayer funds and billionaire investments flow through a network of nonprofits that maintain legal fictions of independence while operating as a unified political machine. The mathematical precision of coordination—including simultaneous, penny-perfect financial transactions—suggests systematic deception designed to hide elite control behind the facade of popular power.

How Grassroots Laundering Works

Like money laundering obscures criminal funding sources, grassroots laundering obscures elite political control through a systematic process:

  1. Step 1: Government grants and tax-deductible donations flow into 501(c)(3) charitable organizations
  2. Step 2: These 501(c)(3) organizations transfer funds to affiliated 501(c)(4) political advocacy groups
  3. Step 3: 501(c)(4) organizations directly support WFP-endorsed candidates and attack their opponents
  4. Step 4: Coordinated fundraising generates taxpayer matching funds (8-to-1 ratio)
  5. Step 5: Elected candidates support the very programs that fund the 501(c)(3) organizations, completing the cycle

The Double Taxpayer Subsidy: Wealthy donors receive tax deductions for donations to 501(c)(3) organizations, with taxpayers footing the bill for those deductions. Meanwhile, these same 501(c)(3) organizations receive direct government grants. Both funding streams then get transferred to 501(c)(4) political operations. The result: taxpayers subsidize elite political operations twice—first by paying for wealthy donors’ tax deductions, then through direct government grants to organizations that fund political activities.

How Grassroots Laundering Works by Sam Antar

Table of Contents

Article Sections:

How to Read This Report: This article follows the full laundering cycle—from the creation of nonprofit networks, to their funding streams, personnel overlaps, and eventual political disbursements. Each section builds on the last, exposing how seemingly legal separations mask centralized control. If you’re short on time, the “Mathematical Proof” and “Direct Political Funding” sections distill the most conclusive evidence.

Note: Nonprofit financial data reflects 2023 Form 990 filings (the latest year available), while campaign finance data covers the ongoing 2025 election cycle.

The Network: A Web of Legally Separate, Operationally Unified Organizations

To understand how grassroots laundering operates, we must first map the network of organizations that maintain legal independence while functioning as a coordinated political machine. Each entity serves a specific role in converting elite funding into the appearance of grassroots political power.

The Working Families Party Network

At the center sits the Working Families Party infrastructure, operating through multiple legally distinct entities:

  • Working Families Party (Political Party): The official political party that endorses candidates and claims grassroots authenticity
  • Working Families Organization (501(c)(4)): Political advocacy arm that can engage in unlimited political activity while claiming zero employees despite processing millions in revenue
  • WFP National PAC (527): Electoral committee that directly supports endorsed candidates through contributions and expenditures
  • WFP National Independent Expenditure Committee (Super PAC): Vehicle for unlimited independent expenditures supporting or opposing candidates

The Make the Road Network

The Make the Road entities serve as a primary conduit for government funding into political operations:

  • Make the Road New York (501(c)(3)): Tax-exempt charitable organization that can receive government grants and tax-deductible donations but is legally restricted from political campaigning. Records show it received over $16 million in government grants in 2023.
  • Make the Road States Inc. (501(c)(3)): Multi-state expansion vehicle for replicating the funding model beyond New York
  • Make the Road Action (501(c)(4)): Political advocacy arm that can engage in unlimited political activity but cannot receive tax-deductible donations. It receives transfers from the 501(c)(3) entity.

The Center for Popular Democracy Network

These entities function as distribution hubs within the broader network:

The Soros-Funded Infrastructure

Major pass-through entities funded by George Soros’s Open Society network:

The Smoking Gun: Shared Infrastructure and Personnel

Despite claims of organizational independence, the network entities share identical office suites, overlapping personnel, and coordinated operations:

Shared Command Centers:

  • 449 Troutman Street, Brooklyn – Suite A:
    • Center for Popular Democracy (501(c)(3))
    • Center for Popular Democracy Action Canvass Network LLC (program of CPDA 501(c)(4))
  • 449 Troutman Street, Brooklyn – Suite C:
    • Make the Road Action Inc. (501(c)(4))
  • 77 Sands Street, Brooklyn – 6th Floor:
    • Working Families Organization Inc. (501(c)(4))
    • WFP National PAC (527)

When supposedly independent organizations share specific office suites while engaging in coordinated financial transfers, this reveals operational unity disguised through legal separation.

Career Paths Across the Funding Pipeline

The most compelling evidence of coordinated operations comes from examining key personnel whose careers span the entire network, revealing questions about organizational independence.

Key Personnel Spanning the Network: The same individuals control organizations across the entire funding pipeline:

Formal Governance Connections: Beyond career movements, the coordination becomes official through governance roles. Center for Popular Democracy Action sits as a formal voting delegate on the Working Families National Committee that sets party strategy and endorsements—the same 501(c)(4) organization that receives transfers from the taxpayer-funded Center for Popular Democracy charitable network.

When the same individuals move between organizations that claim independence while maintaining funding relationships, what distinguishes this from a single entity operating through multiple legal vehicles?

Following the Money: How Taxpayer Funds Become Political Power

Having established the unified control structure, we can now trace how money flows through this network. Each stage converts legitimate charitable funding into coordinated political advocacy.

Government Grants Flow to “Charitable” Organizations

The operation begins by directing substantial government funding to 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that can receive taxpayer grants while claiming to serve community needs.

Make the Road New York (501(c)(3)) operates as the primary taxpayer pipeline, having received over $27 million in NYC taxpayer funds since 2010. In 2023 alone, MRNY reported total revenue of $31,759,111, with $16,124,582 coming directly from government grants—representing 51% of its total revenue.

MRNY then transfers resources to network entities, creating a pipeline from taxpayer-funded infrastructure to political advocacy:

Total transfers from taxpayer-funded MRNY: $962,500 in a single year

Center for Popular Democracy (501(c)(3)) received $545,202 in government grants in 2023 and distributed $1,411,940 throughout the network, including transfers to political advocacy organizations:

  • $440,748 to Make the Road New York (501(c)(3))
  • $474,500 to NY Communities For Change (501(c)(3))
  • $446,692 to Center for Popular Democracy Action Canvass Network LLC
  • $50,000 to Working Families Organization (501(c)(4)) – political advocacy arm

The Cash Fungibility Principle

Cash is fungible. When Make the Road New York receives $16.1 million in government grants, those funds create organizational capacity that enables transfers to Make the Road Action. Whether specific government dollars flow directly or the grants enable other funding streams to reach political operations, the practical effect is the same: taxpayer money subsidizes political advocacy.

Defenders may claim these transfers involve only “unrestricted funds,” but this distinction ignores basic accounting principles. Government funding creates the organizational infrastructure, personnel, and operational capacity that makes political transfers possible.

While taxpayer funds provide the foundation, the true scale of this operation becomes clear when examining the elite funding pipeline that amplifies these efforts.

The Elite Funding Pipeline

While taxpayer funds provide one funding stream, the scale of elite investment reveals the true scope of the operation. George Soros’s political infrastructure systematically funds the same organizations that receive government grants.

The Soros Network: $693+ Million Operation

Evidence from the Open Society Foundations’ public grant database reveals systematic funding to the Tides network, which then funds Working Families Party entities:

The Soros Political Infrastructure: $693+ Million Annually (2023)

Systematic 501(c)(3) → 501(c)(4) Transfers: Open Society Institute’s 2023 Form 990-PF documents moving $36,462,230 from charitable operations to political advocacy organizations, with OSI’s own descriptions of “common source of funding,” “shared facilities & employees,” and “element of common control.”

The OSI Smoking Gun: Perhaps the most damning evidence comes from OSI’s own tax filings, where the foundation explicitly acknowledges what this investigation proves through forensic analysis. OSI’s 2023 Form 990-PF, Section 2a, asks whether the foundation is “affiliated with, or related to” tax-exempt organizations and requires description of relationships. OSI checked “Yes” and provided detailed descriptions that demolish any fiction of organizational independence:

  • Open Society Action Fund Inc (501(c)(4)): $3,977,407 transfer with OSI stating “COMMON SOURCE OF FUNDING AND SHARED FACILITIES & EMPLOYEES. OSAF REIMBURSES OSI FOR ITS ALLOCABLE SHARE OF EXPENSES IN ADVANCE.”
  • Fund for Policy Reform Inc (501(c)(4)): $31,719,763 in transfers with OSI describing “COMMON SOURCE OF FUNDING AND SHARED FACILITIES & EMPLOYEES. FPR INC REIMBURSES OSI FOR ITS ALLOCABLE SHARE OF EXPENSES IN ADVANCE.”
  • Fund for Policy Reform (501(c)(4)): $1,000,000 transfer with OSI noting “ELEMENT OF COMMON CONTROL”

Total documented OSI political transfers: $36,462,230

When the funding organization itself legally admits “common control,” “shared facilities,” and “shared employees” with political advocacy groups, this represents definitive proof that the network operates as a unified entity despite maintaining separate legal structures for strategic advantage.

2023 Soros funding to Tides entities:

Total documented 2023 Soros → Tides funding: $10,522,500

Seven-Year Systematic Investment Pattern

According to OSF’s public grant database, the Soros network provided $6,869,000 in direct grants to core WFP network entities over seven years (2016-2023):

Center for Popular Democracy Network: $2,730,000 (2021-2023)

Make the Road Network: $4,139,000 (2016-2023)

Tides Foundation: The $350 Million Laundering Hub

Tides Foundation (501(c)(3)) reported $350.1 million in revenue in 2023 while claiming zero employees—functioning as a massive pass-through vehicle.

Complete Tides Network WFP Funding: $5,735,830 Total

Tides Foundation (501(c)(3)) Direct Grants:

  • Working Families Organization (501(c)(4)): $4,555,657
  • Center for Popular Democracy (501(c)(3)): $560,000
  • Make the Road Action (501(c)(4)): $75,000
  • Make the Road New York (501(c)(3)): $40,000

Tides Advocacy (501(c)(4)) Political Operations Funding:

  • Working Families Organization (501(c)(4)): $295,173
  • Working Families Party National PAC (527): $135,000
  • Make the Road Action (501(c)(4)): $45,000

The Dual Funding Pattern: Working Families Organization receives money from both Tides entities simultaneously—$4,555,657 from the charitable arm and $295,173 from the political arm, totaling $4,850,830 to a single recipient.

Operational Coordination Evidence

Beyond funding patterns, the network’s coordination is revealed through operational arrangements that eliminate any remaining doubt about independence.

The “Zero Employees” Deception

Organizations processing massive revenue streams report zero employees on their Form 990 tax filings while sharing personnel through management agreements:

Combined total: $655.9 million in revenue managed by organizations reporting zero employees

This contradiction reveals systematic coordination disguised through legal fictions—if they have zero employees, why do they need human resources management and payroll services?

The Coordination Blueprint

The Working Families Party’s November 9, 2022 post-election memo explicitly documents their coordination strategy. The memo details how “WFP coordinated a significant grassroots IE table” (independent expenditures) and describes bringing “the coalition back together from the primary” to support endorsed candidates across multiple races.

This blueprint proves they understand campaign finance rules and coordination disclosure requirements, making systematic disclosure failures appear deliberate rather than accidental—they knew the rules they later violated.

When organizations claim independence while sharing addresses, personnel, payroll systems, and engaging in coordinated financial transfers, what distinguishes this from a single entity operating through multiple legal vehicles for strategic advantage?

Direct Political Funding: Converting Network Infrastructure Into Electoral Influence

The answer becomes clear when examining where all this coordinated infrastructure ultimately leads: direct political expenditures that convert the entire network into electoral influence. After moving through shared offices, overlapping personnel, and systematic transfers, the laundered funds reach their intended destination—political action committees that directly advance Working Families Party candidates while maintaining the fiction of independent grassroots support.

The Political Distribution Hub

Working Families Organization (501(c)(4)) serves as the primary conversion mechanism, transforming elite funding into direct political power. After receiving massive funding from George Soros’s network, WFO executes direct grants to political action committees totaling over $2.3 million in 2023:

Total PAC distributions: $2,223,000 (2023) + $616,800 (2022) = $2,839,800 over two years

The Complete Pipeline

The funding pipeline demonstrates the complete grassroots laundering process. Open Society Policy Center (501(c)(4)) provided massive funding to Working Families Organization (501(c)(4)) in 2023:

  • Open Society Policy Center → Working Families Organization: $4,150,000 for “social welfare activities”
  • Open Society Policy Center → Working Families Organization: $1,000,000 for “policy advocacy on access to federal infrastructure funding”

Total Soros network funding to Working Families Organization: $5,150,000

The mathematical precision demonstrates systematic grassroots laundering: Soros provides $5.15 million, Working Families Organization distributes $2.3+ million to PACs, with the remainder funding the broader network operations that claim grassroots authenticity while serving billionaire political interests.

Beyond WFP: The Broader Network

Tides Advocacy (501(c)(4)) contributed directly to political operations in 2023, completing the billionaire-to-politics pipeline:

  • Working Families Organization (501(c)(4)): $295,173
  • Working Families Party National PAC (527): $135,000
  • Make the Road Action Inc. (501(c)(4)): $45,000

The Grassroots Laundering Revealed: This is how elite wealth becomes “grassroots” political power. Billionaire funding flows through coordinated nonprofit networks, emerges as PAC expenditures, and supports candidates who then claim authentic working-class movements elected them. The elaborate infrastructure of shared offices, overlapping personnel, and systematic transfers serves one purpose: obscuring the true source of political influence while maintaining the illusion of popular democracy.

Mathematical Proof: The Circular Transaction Evidence

SMOKING GUN EVIDENCE: Mathematically Impossible Transactions

During 2025, the network engaged in four separate same-day, penny-perfect circular transactions totaling $54,290.69:

Make the Road Action – June 11, 2025:

On the same day, Make the Road Action contributed exactly $45,697.14 to WFP National PAC, while WFP National PAC reported an identical $45,697.14 in-kind expenditure back to Make the Road Action for “Phone Bank” services.

Emgage Action – June 20-21, 2025:

The mathematical probability of this occurring once approaches zero. The probability of it occurring four separate times across two different organizations during the same election cycle is statistically impossible without coordination.

What distinguishes these transactions from internal budget allocations within a single organization that maintains multiple legal entities for operational purposes?

Takeaway: From shared payroll systems to overlapping staff and circular payments, the network’s structure is functionally indistinguishable from a single entity operating through shell nonprofits.

Completing the Cycle: The $2+ Million Grassroots Laundering Success Story

The grassroots laundering operation reaches its ultimate goal when the entire coordinated infrastructure successfully elects candidates who complete the cycle. This final step demonstrates how elite wealth, channeled through the systematic process documented in this investigation, becomes “grassroots revolution” while elected officials support the very programs that funded their rise to power.

The Perfect Grassroots Laundering Operation: Zohran Mamdani’s “Revolution”

The ultimate test of systematic grassroots laundering comes through examining Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. Despite building his political brand around rejecting elite influence and championing authentic working-class politics, Mamdani benefited from over $2 million in coordinated PAC support directly connected to the billionaire pipeline this investigation exposes—spending more than his entire direct campaign raised from actual voters.

The cycle completes: Taxpayer-funded “charitable” organizations coordinate political support for candidates who publicly condemn elite influence, while those same candidates advocate for increased government funding to the organizations that elected them.

The Policy Feedback Loop: How the Cycle Perpetuates

The system creates what economists call a “moral hazard” in democratic governance. Organizations like Make the Road New York, which received over $16 million in government grants in 2023, don’t just provide services—they actively lobby for increased government funding and expanded social programs. When their coordinated political network successfully elects candidates, those candidates become advocates for the very funding streams that power the organizations.

Consider the mathematical precision: Make the Road New York receives $16.1 million in taxpayer funds, transfers $258,000 to political advocacy arms, which coordinate with PACs spending over $2 million supporting candidates who then advocate for increased funding to organizations like Make the Road. The return on investment is extraordinary—every dollar spent on political advocacy potentially generates dozens of dollars in government contracts and grants.

Campaign Finance Violations and Undisclosed Coordination

Documented Coordination Violations During the 2025 Primary

Investigation of the 2025 NYC Democratic primary reveals systematic coordination violations that appear to have circumvented disclosure rules designed to ensure voter transparency:

Documented “Mutual Aid” Coordination:

  • March 24, 2025: Mamdani announced he had “reached the maximum funding limit for the June primary.” But rather than stepping back, he pivoted to leveraging his massive platform to generate taxpayer-matched donations for coalition allies. The most dramatic example came on May 18, when he posted a video urging supporters to donate to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ campaign—another WFP coalition member.
  • May 18, 2025: Mamdani’s video explicitly telling supporters to donate to Adams because candidates are “running together to defeat Andrew Cuomo”
  • Financial impact: Adams receives $117,000 in donations over two days (30% of her prior two months’ fundraising)
  • Taxpayer impact: $14,300 in public matching funds generated through this coordinated effort
  • Disclosure violations: No bundler attribution reported despite documented coordination and explicit “running together” statements

Strategic Polling Coordination:

  • June 6-7, 2025: Brannan’s campaign commissions $10,500 poll using methodology that “favored Mamdani given his strength with those responding via text”
  • June 9, 2025: Mamdani posts video endorsing Brannan and requesting donations – two days before poll results become public
  • June 11, 2025: Poll showing Mamdani ahead of Cuomo becomes public, benefiting entire WFP coalition strategy
  • Violation pattern: Advance knowledge of strategic information appears to have facilitated coordinated activities without required disclosure

Regulatory Capture Evidence: When confronted about coordination patterns, campaign treasurer Victoria Perrone stated they “ask the @NYCCFB all the time and they tell us what we are allowed to do”—occurring during a period when CFB personnel had documented connections to the WFP network.

The $2+ Million Elite Infrastructure Behind the “Revolution”

Two supposedly “independent” PACs provided systematic support for Mamdani’s campaign, spending a combined $2,022,238—more than Mamdani’s entire direct campaign fundraising of $1,708,494 (as of July 8, 2025):

WFP National PAC: $701,792 total operation

  • $60,955 directly supporting Mamdani
  • $101,221 supporting other WFP-endorsed candidates
  • $539,616 attacking Andrew Cuomo (the only major candidate not endorsed by WFP)
  • Led by Joe Dinkin (National WFP Deputy Director) and Mike Boland (WFP Chief of Staff)

New Yorkers for Lower Costs PAC: $1,320,446 total operation

  • $893,877 supporting Mamdani with positive messaging
  • $424,069 in additional opposition research against Cuomo
  • $2,500 token support for Cuomo (maintaining legal fiction of independence)

The Internal Pipeline: Adding to questions about organizational independence, Working Families Party PAC contributed $100,000 to WFP National PAC, creating a direct pipeline from one WFP entity to another. While technically separate entities, both PACs share overlapping personnel, donors, and branding—raising fundamental questions about whether such institutional alignment complies with NYC’s independent expenditure rules.

Ranked Choice Manipulation: Perfect Coordination Disguised as Independence

The strategic coordination becomes undeniable when examining spending patterns. Both supposedly “independent” PACs supported the exact same candidates as the Working Families Party’s official endorsement slate, while spending nearly $1 million combined attacking the only major candidate not on that slate—Andrew Cuomo.

This perfect alignment between PAC spending and party endorsement strategy raises fundamental questions about the claimed independence that forms the legal foundation for their operations. The coordination extends beyond mere alignment—it demonstrates systematic strategic planning that contradicts federal and local campaign finance rules requiring genuine independence between campaigns and expenditure committees.

The Elite Funding Sources

The largest funding source for WFP National PAC came from Leaders We Deserve PAC ($300,000), backed by Silicon Valley “godfather” Ronald Conway ($300,000), Bill Gates’ daughter Phoebe Gates ($75,000), and Hollywood elite Steven Spielberg & Kate Capshaw ($25,000).

The “New Yorkers for Lower Costs” PAC revealed geographic grassroots laundering, with 71.5% of funding from out-of-state tech billionaires:

Top Elite Donors (40% of total funding):

  • Mokhtarzada Brothers: $189,000 (Harvard Law graduates, $1.3B+ in company sales)
  • Moiz Ali: $100,000 (sold Native Deodorant for $100M)
  • Rehan Muneeb-Azhar: $151,500 (Illinois, largest single contributor)

Mathematical Proof: The Complete Pipeline

The coordination becomes mathematically undeniable when examined alongside the circular transaction evidence documented earlier. The same-day, penny-perfect transactions totaling $54,290.69 across multiple organizations demonstrate systematic coordination that contradicts legal requirements for independence:

The Complete Pipeline:

  • NYC taxpayers fund Make the Road NY (501c3): $16.1 million
  • Make the Road NY transfers to Make the Road Action (501c4): $165,000
  • Make the Road Action contributes to WFP National PAC: $45,697.14
  • WFP National PAC provides political support for Mamdani: $60,955
  • Elected officials support increased taxpayer funding: Cycle completes

The mathematical precision of the $45,697.14 same-day round-trip transaction, combined with coordinated messaging and shared personnel, reveals operational unity disguised through legal separation.

The ultimate question: If this was truly a grassroots revolution powered by working-class New Yorkers, why does every aspect of its funding structure, coordination, and professional management tell a completely different story?

Compromised Oversight: When Regulators Have Network Ties

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this investigation is the compromised oversight system itself. The grassroots laundering operation operated under oversight by regulators with documented connections to the entities they were supposed to monitor.

Key NYC Campaign Finance Board personnel had documented connections to the WFP network during the period when coordination violations occurred:

  • Larry Moskowitz: Sits on the NYC Campaign Finance Board while being a founding WFP staff member for over 15 years, creating obvious conflicts of interest in oversight of WFP-related violations
  • David Duhalde: CFB Senior Candidate Services Liaison who publicly declared himself the “lead DSA member going all in on electing Mamdani” while having access to sensitive candidate information and filing details

During 2025, when four same-day circular transactions totaling $54,290.69 occurred, the oversight agency responsible for detecting these violations had a 15-year WFP veteran on its governing board and a self-described partisan advocate in a senior staff position. Despite mathematical proof of coordination violations, no enforcement action was taken.

When the oversight system includes individuals with documented network connections, how can voters trust that violations will be detected and prosecuted? This represents systematic capture of the regulatory process designed to protect voter transparency.

Conclusion

The evidence raises fundamental questions about the integrity of American democracy. When the same person controls organizations across the entire funding pipeline, when entities claiming “zero employees” manage hundreds of millions in revenue, when mathematically impossible financial transactions occur between “independent” organizations, when systematic campaign finance violations generate taxpayer matching funds, and when oversight agencies include personnel with documented network ties—what distinguishes this from a sophisticated deception designed to hide elite control behind the facade of popular power?

The Working Families Party’s own documentation proves they understand campaign finance rules, yet systematic disclosure failures persist that generated $14,300 in taxpayer matching funds through undisclosed coordination. Either this represents coordinated violations of transparency requirements, or it reveals that current regulations are inadequate to address modern political influence operations that exploit legal technicalities while deceiving voters about who actually funds and coordinates their electoral choices.

Democracy depends on transparency. When voters cannot distinguish between authentic grassroots movements and a $41+ million elite-funded operation disguised through sophisticated financial engineering, the foundation of representative government itself is at stake. The mathematical evidence demands accountability.

For daily updates, follow @SamAntar on X (formerly Twitter)

Written by Sam Antar | Forensic Accountant & Fraud Investigator

© 2025 Sam Antar. All rights reserved

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