ACORN, Payola and Color of Law

Here's one example of how state law enforcement officials have leveraged and possibly violated the law to help ACORN in return for ACORN's political help. In December 2004, Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch sued Capital One for failing to state in its advertisements that it could increase interest rates on credit cards. As part of a 2006 settlement, Capital One paid $749,999, of which $249,999 went to ACORN, $250,000 went to the nonprofit Legal Aid, and $250,000 to the State of Minnesota. AC