“We are confident the facts will demonstrate that the Wyss Foundation and Beger Action Fund have always complied with the law,” a spokesperson said.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has filed a lawsuit against a Swizz citizen and six associate businesses for allegedly contributing “foreign funds” to at least six state ballot question committees.
In a press release announcing the lawsuit, Hilger’s office reiterated that, under Nebraska state, it is “unlawful for a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make a contribution to a ballot question committee.” Since this ban was enacted in 2022, Hansjorg Wyss and his co-defendants allegedly contributed more than $10 million to Nebraska-based nonprofits that campaign for new ballot initiatives. These groups include Raise the Wage Nebraska, Nebraska for Paid Sick Leave, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, Protect Our Rights, Support Our Schools, and Lincoln for Fair Housing.
“Nebraskans are under an unprecedented assault of foreign money, flowing unlawfully into our state’s elections, which seeks to radically remake Nebraska’s laws and constitution. This billionaire and his dark-money allies have flaunted the law in Nebraska, and we filed suit to put a stop to these groups who seek to violate Nebraska law while pushing their radical agenda on the People,” Hilgers said in a statement.
Hilgers’ office described Wyss’s political contributions as a type of vertical “scheme.”
“Atop the scheme is Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss. Wyss contributed large sums to two nonprofits, the Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund. Those nonprofits, in turn, contributed to two other nonprofits, the New Venture Fund and the Sixteen Thirty Fund,” Hilger’s office said. “Those nonprofits then contributed to several other nonprofits, including three Nebraska entities: Nebraska Appleseed, Civic Nebraska, and Nebraska Abortion and Reproductive Justice Fund Inc. Besides the Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund, all the other nonprofits in the web also contributed directly to Nebraska ballot question committees.”
A spokesperson for the Wyss Foundation has since contested these claims, saying that Hilger’s allegations are categorically “false.”
“We are confident the facts will demonstrate that the Wyss Foundation and Beger Action Fund have always complied with the law,” the spokesperson said.
In its own statement, another implicated nonprofit—the Sixty Thirty Fund—derided the lawsuit as “baseless” and “politically motivated,” saying that it and its local partners have complied will all laws and regulations in Nebraska.
“We’re proud to have supported local organizers who fought to secure paid leave, fair housing, and reproductive freedom for Nebraskans,” the group said.
Sources
Attorney General Hilgers Sues Web of Dark Money Groups Funded by Foreign Billionaire
Nebraska sues nonprofits, key funder, alleging they financed ballot initiatives with ‘foreign money’
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