Sen. Fattman, Worcester Register Of Probate Fattman Settle With AG

SUTTON, MA — Two of the most prominent Republican elected officials in Worcester County will pay nearly $200,000 to settle allegations they violated campaign finance laws, Attorney General Andrea Campbell said Tuesday.

According to Campbell, state Sen. Ryan Fattman in 2020 transferred money from his campaign to local and state Republican committees, which in turn sent the money to Fattman's wife's campaign for the Worcester County Register of Probate seat. The contributions were above state limits.

The state Office of Campaign and Political Finance referred the matter to the attorney general's office. The Ryan and Stephanie Fattman asked a judge to block the referral, but they were blocked in 2021.

The Fattman campaign "donated money to the Republican State Committee and the Sutton Republican Town Committee, which used the money to fund over 550,000 mailers in support of (and made other in-kind donations to) Register Fattman’s campaign re-election campaign. These contributions, totaling more than $160,000, of which $137,000 flowed through the Republican State Committee, far exceeded the legal limit $100 on contributions from one candidate to another," Campbell's office said in a news release.

To settle the violations, Stephanie Fattman's campaign will pay back $137,000 from a combination of existing campaign funds and then four annual $27,000 payments.

Sen. Fattman, who represents southern Worcester County, will pay $55,000. His father, Donald Fattman, will pay $10,000 for his role as his son's former treasurer.

Meanwhile, the Sutton Republican Town Committee agreed to pay $5,211.48 to settle the matter, and its chairman — Ryan Fattman's brother, Anthony — agreed to resign. The state Republican committee agreed to pay $15,000 in a settlement reached last month.

The Worcester County Register of Probate seat goes up for election every six years. Fattman first won the seat in 2014 against incumbent Democrat Stephen Abraham.