OAN Staff Lillian Mann
1:57 PM – Monday, March 30, 2026
New York Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is facing scrutiny following allegations that her campaign misused donor funds to pay for private mental health services.
A complaint by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), a conservative non-profit, the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC), was filed on Friday — accusing AOC of paying a psychiatrist $18,725 in campaign funds last year.
The funds were “expended instead for personal psychiatric services provided to AOC or members of her campaign staff,” the complaint notes.
AOC’s campaign reportedly made four separate payments to Dr. Brian Boyle, a practitioner known for “novel” psychiatric therapies. However, the specific nature of these sessions — and who exactly attended them — remains unclear.
Boyle is prominently known for his work with ketamine-assisted therapies. He is the “Chief Psychiatric Officer” at Stella, a mental health organization that specializes in “interventional” and “neurotherapeutic” treatments.
After an investigation by the New York Post was published earlier this month, prompting the complaint, investigators found that “AOC [was] spending almost $19,000 in campaign funds for a shrink, [which] appears to violate both the FEC and House Ethics rules prohibiting use of such funds for personal purposes,” NLPC counsel Paul Kamenar told the outlet.
“Those expenses were also misreported by the campaign committee with the FEC,” the complaint adds.
Per the complaint, payments were made on March 10th ($11,550), May 15th ($2,800), and October 1st ($4,375), though the payments were strangely designated as “Leadership Training and Consulting.”
While Dr. Boyle’s website does not list “leadership training” or “consulting” as specialties of his, analysts suggest that the campaign may attempt to highlight his background as an “Executive Coach in Residence” for a tech incubator, arguing that this was the basis for his services.
Stella Mental Health has locations in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Utah, but does not appear to maintain locations in New York or the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
“NLPC requests that the FEC and OCC immediately investigate the facts and circumstances of these payments and impose appropriate penalties and disciplinary sanctions against AOC,” the complaint states.
The Harvard-trained doctor, calls himself an “interventional psychiatrist” and specializes in unorthodox methods for treatment-resistant depression, PTSD and anxiety. He is also known for being a proponent for ketamine therapy as well as SPRAVATO, the only “FDA-approved ketamine nasal spray.”
AOC previously shared that she was “in therapy” to process “trauma” stemming from her witnessing the protests at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“After the 6th, I took some time and it was really [Rep.] Ayanna Pressley when I explained to her what happened to me, like the day of, because I ran to her office and she was like, ‘you need to recognize trauma,” AOC told radio show Latino USA.
If the House Ethics Committee (HEC) takes up the matter, it possesses the authority to subpoena witnesses and impose disciplinary sanctions against AOC — powers that exceed those of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE).
Under federal law, the personal use of campaign funds is strictly prohibited. Violations can result in criminal penalties of up to five years in prison. Furthermore, the FEC may mandate that candidates reimburse their campaigns for any diverted funds using personal assets.
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