[JK: Mike Brandi, former chair and now vice-chair of the Saratoga Springs City Republican Committee, sent the press release below. After an investigation into a bizarre donation to Democrat/Working Families Party candidate Joe Seeman’s unsuccessful Assembly campaign, the New York State Board of Elections found that former Saratoga Springs Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran used a gross sexual name when he entered a false name as a donor to Seeman’s campaign. Moran claimed that the donation was the result of a pernicious hack, but the Board determined that Moran was the source of the improper donation.]
For immediate release. From the desk of Mike Brandi.
New York State Board of Elections finds Dillon Moran was the source of the funds of illicit “Jack Meehoff” donation; No Evidence of Hacking.
Records obtained through a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to the New York State Board of Elections reveal that the failed Assembly campaign committee of Joe Seeman accepted an illegal campaign contribution submitted under a fictitious and lewd pseudonym tied to former Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran.
In its 27-day post-election filing, the Seeman campaign reported receiving a $100 contribution on October 31, 2024, from a contributor identified as “Jack Meehoff,” listing an address of 177 Lake Avenue and an employer of “City of Saratoga Springs.”
That address belongs to Dillon Moran.
Campaign finance records further show that Moran had previously donated $200 to the Seeman campaign under his real name using the same address.
Shortly thereafter, the New York State Board of Elections Enforcement Counsel contacted the Seeman campaign and advised that it had reported a contribution under a fictitious name. Enforcement Counsel instructed the campaign that it was required to disgorge the contribution by donating the funds either to the State or to a legitimate charitable organization.
On January 10, the Seeman campaign’s treasurer informed the Board of Elections that she had “done some sleuthing” and determined that the “Jack Meehoff” contribution had in fact come from Dillon Moran, who allegedly claimed that he had been “hacked.” The treasurer then asked whether the campaign could simply amend the filing to replace “Meehoff” with Moran and retain the contribution.
In response to the hacking allegation, Enforcement Counsel requested additional information in order to properly assess the matter.
Following an investigation, the Public Campaign Finance Board determined that the illicit contribution did in fact originate from Dillon Moran and that the contribution was submitted from a network associated with other contributions Moran made to political committees. The Board found no evidence that either Moran or the Seeman campaign had been victims of hacking.
New York Election Law prohibits political committees from accepting contributions made in any name other than the true name of the contributor.
The Board of Elections ordered the Seeman campaign to disgorge the $100 contribution within 30 days or face a $350 civil penalty. In the alternative, the campaign could have provided an affidavit from Moran admitting that he was the true source of the contribution. No such affidavit was ever provided.
On January 9, 2026, the Seeman campaign ultimately disgorged the unlawful contribution by donating $100 to charity.
The facts are clear: Dillon Moran made an official political contribution using a lewd pseudonym. Not only was this unlawful, but it was wildly inappropriate and unbecoming of a public official.
A healthy democracy requires elections conducted transparently and in accordance with the law. Moran’s cavalier treatment of campaign finance requirements demonstrates precisely why Saratoga Springs voters made the right decision in rejecting him in 2025.
When confronted, Moran resorted to the now-familiar “I was hacked” excuse — an explanation that collapsed under scrutiny after investigators concluded there was no evidence of hacking and determined that Moran himself was the source of the illegal contribution.
Saratoga Springs Politics 