Ex-Indiana congressional candidate ‘Honest Gabe’ gets 3 months in federal prison for campaign finance violation

(WXIN/WTTV) — Not so honest? A 2024 congressional candidate who ran under the slogan “Honest Gabe for Congress” has been sentenced to three months in federal prison after admitting to falsifying campaign finance contributions.

Gabriel Whitley, a 27-year-old from Indianapolis, most recently ran as a Republican candidate for Indiana’s seventh district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He garnered just over 13% of the vote in May and

did not win the nomination.

The candidate was accused in January of lying to the Federal Election Commission and creating fake contributions made to his “Honest Gabe” campaign. He later pleaded guilty to the allegations and has now been sentenced by a federal judge.

Lying about campaign finances

Whitley reportedly committed fraud by portraying that his campaign had “significantly greater” support and money than it actually did.

Court documents detailed how last year Whitley served as the treasurer for his own campaign committee.

He has since admitted how he lied to the Federal Election Commission in three separate reports about hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign finances.

Specifically, FBI officials say Whitley made up biographical details for 67 people in October 2023 and claimed they contributed more than $220,000 to his campaign. Then, in January 2024, Whitley again gave fake donor details to the FEC. Finally, in April 2024, he falsified a $100,000 loan.

The U.S. District Attorney’s Office said in January 2025 that Whitley agreed to plead guilty to falsifying campaign contributions. On Tuesday, he received his sentence.

3 months in federal prison, fines

Whitley was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court to three months in federal prison at the “lowest security level deemed appropriate.” The court also recommended that Whitley undergo substance abuse treatment, vocational training and a mental health evaluation for trauma.

In addition to his prison sentence, Whitley was given a supervised release sentence of one year. Furthermore, Whitley was ordered to pay a $100 fine and a $100 special assessment fee.

As part of his supervised release, Whitley is prohibited from committing any other crimes or having any involvement in illegal drugs or controlled substances. Furthermore, Whitley must maintain lawful full-time employment, is prohibited from owning any guns and must regularly meet with his probation officer.

The Indianapolis Business Journal reported that during his two-hour sentencing hearing, Judge James Sweeney said Whitley was receiving a lenient sentence in part due to his lack of criminal history. Furthermore, Sweeney said Whitley had a “troubled, traumatic childhood” and that he suffered from several ongoing mental health issues.

The IBJ also reported that Whitley implied during the hearing that he would no longer pursue political positions and said he was “embarrassed” of his actions. Whitley also told the court that he did not know his campaign finances were fraudulent.

Whitley’s past issues

This is not the first time that Whitley has found himself in legal trouble.

The former candidate was charged in September with one count of felony intimidation after reportedly threatening and encouraging violence against local attorney and journalist Abdul Shabazz.

Whitley was also accused of campaign finance violations while running for Mayor of Evansville. The Evansville Courier & Press reported in 2021 that Whitley’s alleged donors claimed to have never known him.

In 2022, Whitley was sued by WIBC-FM Indianapolis radio host Robert Kendall for his alleged posts on the Facebook group “Young Conservatives of Southern Indiana.” Kendall claimed that Whitley called him a pedophile in a comment that read “Pedo Joe [Biden] and Pedo Rob [Kendall] think alike.”