Former Republican Delegate Suzette Raines is being fined $100 a day over four missing campaign finance reports, according to a lawsuit filed by the secretary of state's office.
The fines, which started Aug. 28, totaled $8,500 on Nov. 20, according to a lawsuit filed by Secretary of State Natalie Tennant in Kanawha Circuit Court.
The lawsuit says Tennant gave Raines a number of opportunities to submit the reports without penalty. State law provides a $25 penalty for each day a report is "delinquent, grossly incomplete or grossly inaccurate."
Raines should have filed four reports, according to the lawsuit, for the times she campaigned for office in 2012 and 2014.
On Sunday, Raines said, however, that there was never any reason for her to file the reports. She said the lawsuit is an attempt to harm her reputation to keep her from seeking public office.
"I raised and spent no money after my 2012 election. So my reports are zero dollars. I closed out my 2012 House account and took a loss on the personal loan I made to my campaign," Raines said.
"I think they want to damage me as much as possible to keep me from ever running again."
The lawsuit is assigned to Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit.
After serving two years representing Kanawha in the House of Delegates, Raines withdrew while running for reelection in August 2014 - several weeks after the state Democratic Executive Committee filed a petition in Kanawha Circuit Court to remove her.
The petition alleged Raines failed to file financial disclosures with the state Ethics Commission, as well as three campaign finance reports with the Secretary of State for the primary election. The complaint also asserted Raines no longer lived in the 35th District, which she represented.
Raines withdrew, citing personal issues, including the death of her mother in March 2014.
The state Election Commission refused to allow Kanawha County Republicans to fill the ballot vacancy, saying Raines didn't meet the legal standard to withdraw from the race, which is that she would be unable to serve if elected.
The Kanawha GOP took the dispute to the state Supreme Court, which allowed Marie Sprouse-McDavid to take Raines' spot on the ballot. Sprouse-McDavid finished fifth, just out of the running in the four-member 35th District.
Beginning in June 2014, Timothy G. Leach, assistant general counsel for Tennant's office, encouraged Raines to submit the delinquent campaign finance reports, according to the lawsuit.
"Since that time, Mr. Leach has made multiple efforts, both by correspondence and by telephone and in-person conversations, to encourage the Defendant into submitting the required forms," the lawsuit states. "On several occasions, the Defendant has indicated that the missing forms would be submitted."
But Raines said Sunday that she had confirmed with Leach that checks written to her campaign were never deposited.
"The WVSOS can track PAC checks through disclosures from the respective PAC. Tim Leach told me the office researched every check issued to my campaign and confirmed they were not deposited.
"I returned the checks I received, quite honestly, because I was grieving and incredibly depressed and knew I couldn't handle running," she said.
Charleston attorneys Richard Gottlieb and Spencer Elliott filed the lawsuit on behalf of Tennant's office.
It claims Raines was to file a 2013 annual report for the 2012 committee, which was due April 5, 2013; a 2014 annual report for the 2012 committee, due April 4, 2014; a 2015 annual report for the 2012 committee, due April 3, and a 2015 annual report for the 2014 committee, due April 3.
Raines was hired as state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's top legislative aide in December 2014, but resigned abruptly after about three months.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.