An ex-lobbyist infiltrated Donald Trump’s inner circle, pocketed tens of thousands in a political donation scam, and even faked cancer treatment to swindle the rich and famous of Palm Beach, his alleged victims claim, Daily Mail reported.
Former Idaho lobbyist Jesse Taylor, 38, has now been banned from all Trump properties and the former president’s lawyers have sent him a cease and desist letter.
The ex lobbyist met Trump several times, was close with top campaign officials, and even wheedled his way into parties at Donald Trump Jr. and fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle’s house, multiple sources told DailyMail.com.
Charming, exuberant and well-connected, he gave members of the ritzy Mar-a-Lago club the impression he was a successful political consultant with a penchant for champagne and flying private – and a tragic ongoing battle with bladder cancer.
But in a twist worthy of AppleTV show Palm Royale, Taylor’s house of cards tumbled when sources close to the Trump campaign say he bounced a $25,000 donation check, and they discovered he had been selling photo opportunities with the hopeful US president for $6,600 and pocketing the proceeds.
He even allegedly offered ambassadorships in a future Trump administration to would-be donors – without the campaign’s knowledge – in exchange for up to $10,000 per month in consulting contracts, one source told Daily Mail.
He convinced a lobbying client, drag racer John Odom of the reality TV show Street Outlaws, to pay him $60,000 for supposed cancer medical bills in 2022, Odom claimed. He got another $20,000 from top GOP donor Greg Mosing for the same.
The Mosings say they never thought that the request could be a scam. Photos Taylor texted to Greg’s wife Donna in October 2022 appeared to be of him from the waist down getting cancer treatment in a hospital bed.
But an investigation by DailyMail.com reveals that Taylor ripped the photo from a 2015 blog by a woman documenting her own cancer treatment, and passed it off as himself.
It is unclear whether Taylor has ever been treated for cancer.
Livid Odom says he will be pressing criminal charges.
‘I am meeting with the [Ada County, Idaho] District Attorney’s office soon and will be asking them to file charges of credit card fraud, grand theft and fraud against him,’ he said.
‘I hope that other individuals he has taken advantage of will do the same. I watched my mom die of cancer and to have someone lie about that for financial gain, there is a special place in hell for them.’
A March 15 ‘cease and desist’ letter from Trump’s lawyer to Taylor accuses him of ‘fraud and extortion’ and ‘shameless and manifest deceit’.
‘You are promising donors a photo with President Trump in exchange for campaign contributions in the amount of $6,600, an offer you are not authorized to make, nor can you fulfill,’ the letter by Dhillon Law Group attorney David Warrington said.
Warrington’s letter claimed Taylor promised donors positions in a future administration in exchange for consulting contracts, and that he ‘threatened’ campaign staff with leaking ‘sensitive information’
Taylor told DailyMail.com: ‘I categorically deny these allegations made and I will take steps to prove they are false.’
‘This is a hit job from several people and at best distorts the truth and at worst is outright lies,’ he said.
‘These allegations and rumors are absolutely unproven and made by three individuals who’ve set out to ruin me, my career and life.’
Taylor claimed that Odom and Mosing will ‘stop at nothing to achieve their goal of ruining my life and career’.
According to his former confidants, Taylor had been racking up tens of thousands of dollars in debt to his Mar-a-Lago member friends since he moved to Florida last January, borrowing from one to pay the other, couch surfing and relying heavily on hospitality from his rich contacts to keep up appearances in Palm Beach.
‘He was trying to live that champagne lifestyle on nickel beer money,’ said Lafayette oil baron Mosing. ‘As far as I’m concerned he was looking for victims.’
Taylor has a criminal record which began at an early age.
Bear Lake County, Idaho court records show that in 2003, 18-year-old Taylor stole more than $1,000 of merchandise from an Alco Discount Store storage container.
He pleaded guilty to the charge, but the judge allowed him to avoid a felony conviction and gave him 15 days in jail, served on weekends.
He was also convicted of two DUIs, in 2014 and 2021.
