INDIANAPOLIS Not so honest? A 2024 congressional candidate who ran under the slogan “Honest Gabe for Congress” will now plead guilty 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.

Now, the candidate has been accused of lying to the Federal Election Commission and creating fake contributions made to his “Honest Gabe” campaign.

Whitley – who has now agreed to plead guilty to the charge – reportedly did this to portray his campaign as having “significantly greater” support and money than it actually did.

Court documents detail how last year Whitley served as the treasurer for his own campaign committee. He has since admitted that he lied to the FEC 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 Oct. 2023 and claimed they contributed over $220,000 to his campaign. Then, in Jan. 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 confirmed Wednesday that Whitley has now agreed to plead guilty to falsifying campaign contributions. He now faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A change-of-plea and sentencing hearing will now be scheduled for a later date.

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. For more information on that case, click here.