MIDDLETOWN, Del. - In a statement released Friday afternoon, Bethany Hall-Long shared the results of an internal audit into her campaign finance reports, which had previously been noted for reporting issues in September.
The review was requested internally and Delaware-based Summit CPA conducted the report, which concluded that "no wrongdoing or violations were found," though more specific information had not been released until Friday.
According to a statement from Hall-Long's campaign, the review identified that personal loans were made by her family for campaign-related expenses like television advertising, yard signs, campaign literature and consulting. These were made on personal credit cards as a loan, though they were recorded on reports as expenditures instead of properly labeled as loans.
Finance reports from 2016 to 2022 are being amended, according to her campaign, to correct categorization errors and loan repayments.
Personal expenditures totaled to a $308,134.35 loan from Hall-Long to the campaign. Her campaign also says reports have been amended to reflect that loans have been partially repaid in the amount of $206,985, meaning Hall-Long has personally loaned her campaign $101,149.35 more than she has been repaid at the time of the release.
"I regret the confusion and errors in these reports, though it was unintentional," Hall-Long said. "As our campaign grew from the kitchen table around which I started my first legislative race to that of a statewide elected official, we should not have continued to take on the responsibility of managing the finance reporting."
"I am grateful to the compliance experts and accountants who identified these reporting errors and worked diligently to correct them," she continued. "Going forward, our campaign reporting will be handled by experts in this field."