RICHMOND, Va. -- After a month of questioning, 6th District Richmond City Council candidate Tavares Floyd is breaking his silence about his campaign finance reports.
The candidate held a news conference Saturday denouncing the recent allegations against his campaign without offering specific details or providing supporting evidence.
The 30-minute press conference was held in Richmond where Floyd briefly mentioned the allegations, but did not take any questions from the press.
As CBS 6 has previously reported, Floyd's campaign has claimed to have raised just over $140,000 in total contributions, according to campaign filings. That is significantly higher than his opponents' fundraising.
However, some people the Floyd campaign listed as its largest donors told CBS 6 they have never made any contributions and do not know who Floyd is.
WATCH: Richmond City Council candidate Tavares Floyd: 'I refute all of it'
During the news conference, Floyd addressed those who have supported him through the allegations.
"Today I stand in solidarity with them all to publicly denounce all allegations against myself and/or this campaign. And I refute all of it," Floyd said. "At this time, no comments will be accepted and no questions will be taken."
Investigative Reporter Tyler Lane repeatedly reached out to the Floyd campaign before to the news conference and never heard back.
OCT. 23 COVERAGE: Some reported donors of Richmond campaign say they never contributed money
The campaign for Richmond City Council candidate Tavares Floyd has reported to have raised significantly more money than Floyd's opponents, but some of the donors the Floyd campaign has claimed told CBS 6 they have not made any contributions.
For the past month, Floyd has not responded to CBS 6's questions surrounding his campaign finance reporting and instead sent the news station a legal threat.
Floyd is running for city council in the 6th District, which represents areas in Northside, Downtown, and Manchester. His opponents are incumbent Ellen Robertson, whom Floyd used to work for as a City Hall liaison, and Willie Hilliard.
According to data published by the Virginia Department of Elections, Hilliard's campaign has reported about $17,000 in total campaign contributions, Roberston's campaign has reported about $74,000, and Floyd's campaign has reported just over $140,000 in total contributions.
"It's rare and unusual in a city council race which really focuses on districts, which really focuses on door knocking, getting out there, talking to the voters, that somebody would have this amount of resources to run the campaign," CBS 6 political analyst Dr. Bob Holsworth said about the Floyd campaign's reported finances.
But some people the Floyd campaign has reported as donors refute that they've given money to his campaign.
According to state records, Floyd's campaign listed Chicago businessman and former politician Willie Wilson, owner of Omar Medical Supplies, as his top donor. The campaign claimed Wilson donated $20,000, but Wilson told CBS 6 that is untrue.
"I did not do that. I don't even know the person running for office in, I guess Richmond, Virginia," Wilson said.
Floyd's campaign also reported that Donald Baskerville, employed by Baskerville Funeral Home in Tennessee, donated $5,000. Baskerville told CBS 6 he has never contributed, does not know who Tavares Floyd is, and wants his name to be cleared as a donor.
Then, there's attorney Arthur Horne, who runs a law firm in Memphis. Floyd's campaign reported Horne donated $5,000, but Horne said he did no such thing.
“That’s crazy. I don’t know this person and I definitely didn’t give him $5,000," Horne said.
Holsworth called this "one of the most unusual situations" he's ever seen.
Holsworth said finance reporting concerns usually center around candidates who under-report donations or attempt to hide money.
“That's pretty baffling, but I guess they want to show that the campaign might be more serious than it actually is," Holsworth said.
Floyd's campaign also reported that he paid about $3,300 in credit card processing fees to the third-party donation website ActBlue between April and June.
According to ActBlue's website, it charges a 3.95% fee on contributions.
If the $3,300 reported in processing fees represents the 3.95% charge, then the Floyd campaign's reporting would equate to nearly $85,000 in donations through ActBlue.
But ActBlue's filings with the state during the same time period showed it disbursed about $2,750 to Floyd's campaign.
That's a roughly $82,000 difference.
ActBlue did not respond to CBS 6's request for comment.
As of October 23, the Floyd campaign's ActBlue donation page said it was not active.
CBS 6 began asking Floyd questions about his campaign reporting on September 23.
Floyd did not respond to multiple calls, texts, and emails, and on October 18, he sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding that CBS 6 not air a story.
CBS 6 reached back out to Floyd multiple more times on Wednesday with questions about his campaign's listed donors and ActBlue pay-outs. We have still not heard back.
No official government agency contacted by CBS 6 said it was addressing the Floyd campaign's financial reporting.
Both the state Department of Elections and Richmond registrar Keith Balmer said they do not have the authority to investigate the situation.
Local News
Richmond electoral board chair calls for action in campaign finance reporting
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have information to share.
