Democratic Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, the first black woman elected to the US Senate, has been accused of employing an unlawfully employing an alien from South Africa as the manager of her 1992 election campaign. According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, the issue is likely to become an issue in the Senator’s re-election campaign. Moseley-Braun is up for reelection this year.
Kgosie Matthews is said to have been paid as much as $15,000 per month even though he lacked legal work authorization. He was in the US on a visa which only permitted him to work for a specific employer in the US. To work for a different employer, Matthews would have had to have gotten the new employer to file for a change of status. The Tribune filed a request with the INS under the Freedom of Information Act and learned that the Moseley-Braun’s campaign did not file for Matthews’ work authorization as required. As soon as Matthews’ left his first employer, he would be considered to be in violation of the immigration laws.
This is not the first time that Matthews has made the news. Moseley-Braun was criticized for taking a trip with Matthews in 1996 to see Nigerian leader General Sani Abacha. Abacha’s human rights record is generally considered dismal. Moseley-Braun has also been accused of violating Senate ethics rules relating to the sale of a Chicago apartment she co-owned with Matthews. And the Internal Revenue Service is investigating whether Matthews used campaign funds for personal purposes and whether he paid taxes on income received while in the US.
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