An investigation by the Government Accountability Institute (GAI), supported by documents retrieved by FOIA requests, has found that then Georgia House member Stacey Abrams received special treatment related to a government loan program that benefited her private investment in a company she helped start.
On October 7, 2021, the financial technology company Now Corp. (previously NOWaccount) co-founded by Stacey Abrams in 2010, secured $29 million in financing and an equity investment from Brigade Capital Management LP and Virgo Investment Group.
This was a significant milestone given the fact in 2013 NOWaccount had approximately $100,000 in annual revenue.
Less than two months after this announcement, on December 1, 2021, Abrams announced she would run for Georgia governor, setting up a possible rematch with Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.
And in March 2022, Abrams filed a financial disclosure form which indicated her net worth was $3.17 million, a substantial increase from the net worth of $109,000 when she first ran for governor four years ago.
While most media reports attribute Abrams significant increases in net-worth to speeches and advances for book projects, her investment in Now Corp. has received little attention. Abrams herself has previously claimed that she “walled myself off” from company operations. However, documents indicate she was an integral part of the plan to use the federal program to benefit NOW.
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