Sean Nienow, who is being sued by the federal government for defaulting on a $600,000 Small Business Administration Loan, recently cried to KSTP's Jay Kolls that a fix for Minnesota Care would be great:
Great, if it works! Number two: if does work, it's still our taxpayer money! Federal money doesn't grow on trees!"
Sean's cameo begins at 1:42 in the clip. As Bluestem reported yesterday, Common sense money management" dude Senator Nienow was also sued in state court for a contract related to his purchased the same business, the National Camp Associaton, Inc.
Federal money may not grow on trees for health care, but if it's his own defaulted federal loan? Apparently it's just a little shrubbery to borrow from the federal government for a private business, even if that doesn't work out.
Nienow lent money to campaign while not paying SBA debt down
Curiously enough, Sean Nienow might not have been able to find money to pay his SBA loan or fulfill the money he owed to National Camp Association, Inc, a New York corporation, which received a court judgement for outstanding cash, but he was able to loan his campaign money.
His amended 2012 year end campaign finance report to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board shows that Nienow lent his campaign $4560.00 on July 23, 2012. It was paid back in full. Another loan of $4950.00 was paid back on January 1, 2012, for a total of $9600.00 loan repayment to the candidate in 2012. (The repayments for all years are found under "Noncampaign Disbursements."
When did Nienow loan his campaign nearly $5000? Looking backward to to 2011, Nienow lent his campaign $4950.00 on December 31, 2011 (mind you that it paid him back ASAP in 2012), according to his 2011 end of year report.
But there's more!
In the 2011 year end report, Nienow's campaign repaid earlier loans from the candidate. A partial loan payment of $990 was made on August 9, 2011, another of $500 on November 14, 2011, and a final partial payment of $900 was made on November 20, 2011 for a total of $2390 repaid for the year.
In the 2010 year end report, Sean Nienow loaned his campaign $4700 on July 19; his employer is listed as the National Camp Association Inc. He repaid the loan on July 21, as well as repaying any earlier loan for $4700 on January 4, 2010. The campaign had two outstanding loan balances as of October 18, 2010: $50 from the candidate on August 5, 2002 and $4900 lent by the candidate on December 30, 2005.
Note that Randy Furst's story in the Star Tribune reports that:
“The defendants ceased making payments on or about July 28, 2010, and the Note has not been repaid,” the suit said. “Defendants have defaulted under the terms and conditions of the Note by failing to repay said Note.”
Apparently Nienow found $4700 to loan his campaign on July 19 and got it back of July 21, but didn't direct that cash toward his outstanding balance with the SBA. Did he hoard it until lending it once again to the campaign committee?
The two loans at $4950, along with a December 31, 2009, loan from the candidate of $4700, are listed on his committee's 2009 year end report.
Earlier campaign finance reports do not fall within the period of the contract to buy the assets of National Camp Associatio, Inc. of New York or of the SBA loan.
Nienow does seem to have managed to loaned money to his campaign--and gotten it back--even as he wasn't paying on his loan and contract. Money doesn't grow on trees, after all.
Photo: Sean Nienow. He's not up for re-election until 2016, so maybe everybody will forget this by then.
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