3 Campaign Workers Indicted on Election Fraud Charges in RI Had Extensive Criminal Records

3 Campaign Workers Indicted on Election Fraud Charges in RI Had Extensive Criminal Records

 

GoLocal unveiled a massive election fraud case in Rhode Island on Saturday.

It is a controversy that saw four employees of Advanced Micro Targeting, a Texas-based firm, indicted by a Rhode Island grand jury.

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The four were hit with a total of 46 charges  — 28 of those were felonies. The grand jury indicted the four in October of 2024, but the grand jury indictments and the subsequent convictions of two of the four workers were not made public until GoLocal’s report on Saturday.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha had never announced the indictments or the convictions and refuses to answer why the significant election fraud case was never made public. 

A major question is how the four employees came to Rhode Island and what they were doing here. And, why were three of the four workers allowed to work on a political campaign handling public documents relating to a presidential campaign if they had been charged and convicted of multiple crimes in the past — all of those crimes took place in other states.

Their employer, Advanced Micro Targeting, has repeatedly told GoLocal in phone interviews and emails that they conducted extensive background checks and the three employees all passed their review.

The company is also facing an investigation in Missouri into separate matters. SEE BELOW.

 

How It Started: No Labels and Advanced Micro Targeting 

In preparation for the 2024 Presidential election, the political organization No Labels sought to get on the ballot in Rhode Island and as many other states as they could across the country.

No Labels is primarily organized under the 501(c)(4) section of the tax code, meaning it is a nonprofit that doesn’t have to disclose its donors. 

Four out-of-state employees were part of a larger group who traveled to Rhode Island to collect petition signatures for a political party to run a presidential candidate on the ballot in 2024.

Gary Sasse said, “I don't think there's any funding involved [locally]. I was the chairman of it. I never spent a penny. So I had no budget. So it was part of the movement ‘No Labels’ back before the last election [2024]. The goal was to get to as many states as possible.” Sasse previously served as the director of Administration for Republican Governor Don Cacieri in the early 2000s.

The money to pay for the effort came from the national group.

Sasse said he was responsible for going to the Rhode Island Board of Elections to register the No Labels effort in Rhode Island as a political party.  He said he heard about some discrepancies with some of the filings and was contacted by a detective from one of the towns.

“I got called by one of the detectives in one of the towns. And he was asking me the same kind of questions you are asking me,” said Sasse.

Sasse said that former Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Robert Flanders served as legal counsel to the national effort in Rhode Island.

Flanders told GoLocal in a phone interview on Friday that he was hired by the national group.

"And I remember there was a problem with them [the campaign workers] in terms of whatever affidavit of compliance. that they filed. That did not seem to square with whatever actually happened with how some of the signatures were procured. That’s the extent of my memory,” said Flanders.

Flanders said he spoke to one police officer about the incident. “I do recall speaking with a police officer from one of the jurisdictIons. That may have been either Cranston or Jamestown or someplace [else],” said Flanders. Flanders said that, as far as he can remember, no one from the No Labels group in Rhode Island was contacted by the Attorney General’s office.

Flanders said he never appeared before the grand jury empaneled in 2024.

A key question is who at No Labels funded the Advanced Micro Targeting Rhode Island effort, and how much was paid.

GoLocal reached out to Margaret White, the Executive Director of No Labels in Washington, DC, via email and LinkedIn with a series of questions about the cost and funding of the Rhode Island ballot effort, as well as the business relationship between her group and Advanced Micro Targeting. 

She did not respond to any questions.

So how did a group of campaign workers from Texas, Georgia, and Nevada end up in Rhode Island?  And, how did that group of people, within just a few months, commit dozens of crimes?

On Friday, GoLocal conducted a nearly 30-minute phone interview with Advanced Micro Targeting’s President and founder, Billy Rogers, and Chief Operating Officer, Amanda Fitzgerald.

According to Rogers and Fitzgerald, no executives of the company were called before the grand jury. “Correct. We did not actually do any testifyIng, but we did send over documentation on how people were paid and disciplinary actions for four employees,” said Fitzgerald.

When asked about the effectiveness of the company’s background checks, both Rogers and Fitzgerald were adamant that they complied with all laws.

 

"Lengthy Criminal Records"

But, according to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office, three of the four charged by the grand jury had “lengthy criminal records.”

In addition, GoLocal reviewed National Crime Information Center (NCIC)  records for two of the four individuals who were charged and have eluded arrest by Rhode Island law enforcement. NCIC is a massive, computerized database managed by the FBI that tracks criminal records, fugitives, stolen property, and missing persons across the U.S.

The two men who worked for Advanced Micro Targeting were indicted by the grand jury in Rhode Island and are facing outstanding warrants: Robert Gatling of Bellaire, Texas, and Jason Jones of Athens, Georgia.

Gatling is facing 16 charges in Rhode Island, of which 13 are felonies.

“Robert, at the time that we had sent his last background check, came back clean. We only go back as far as we are legally allowed,” said Fitzgerald.

According to NCIC files reviewed by GoLocal, Gatling has nearly a dozen charges, including assault on a family member, issuing bad checks, as well as a DUI conviction and a range of other traffic-related charges.

Jason Jones' record was far more extensive. He had dozens of charges. He was charged with felony manufacturing, distribution, and possession of drugs within 1,000 feet of a school, multiple felony forgery charges in Georgia, and other drug, driving, and simple assault charges.

According to Fitzgerald, the background check found only one issue in Jones' background.

“It’s a federal case, so it did not say whether it was a felony or misdemeanor because we did look into that.  Guilty of federal charges for conspiracy to distribute marijuana, and that was six years prior to our running,” added Fitzgerald.

“We run background checks on everybody that we hire. Don't hire anybody with any violent history. Or any major felonies. You know we run background checks on thousands of people,” said Rogers. He says that, unlike other firms, those who work for Advanced Micro Targeting are employees and the company offers benefits, and after 90 days, pays health benefits." 

When asked about the claims by one of the company's former workers, who has pled guilty to charges in Rhode Island, that he did what he was told to do, Rogers said. “We have an extensive training program for everybody that we hire. They understand the rules before they go into the field.”

Roger added, “Rocket scientist to figure out that getting a copy of the phonebook and forging a name is against the law. You know, and that's something that we teach in training. We have hired 10,000 people across the country in the past eight years.”

 

Dishman on Turnover - Did the Same Thing in Multiple States

Drake Dishman, who was one of the four who pled guilty to multiple charges in Rhode Island, said that the turnover of the Advanced Micro Targeting was high.

“A gazzillion [workers in RI]. Some people just work for a day. They come by, they cry. They get somebody else. They get somebody else.  They'd get somebody else,” said Dishman.

For Dishman, Rhode Island was just one of the places he worked for Advanced Micro Targeting.

“Yeah, I worked at a lot of places — Rhode. Island. Tennessee. Nebraska. Missouri. In Rhode. Island.  I did 71 days or so. And then it seemed like less than two months in Nebraska. And Tennessee was a few more days. And. You know. Here and there,” Dishman said.

About the situation, Dishman said, “I have no faith left in any, pretty much any company. Yeah, I'm sorry."

“I don't know if I should talk to people because I did the same thing in Nebraska. I did the same thing in Missouri. I did the same things in Nevada. You know, and how do I know those states aren't going to come after me?” said Dishman.

 

That’s Bullshit

"That is bullshit," said Rogers. “I mean, that is total bullshit that he was trained by the company to forge signatures.”

Rogers admitted, “It’s hard work and it's not for everyone. And, then you do have high turnover.”

Rogers said he could not remember how his firm was hired by No Labels, but he said they helped the political party qualify in 20 states.

When asked about another state investigating Advanced Micro Targeting, Rogers dismissed the investigation and said it was “Nuts.”

 

Missouri Investigation

According to States News in January of 2026:

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has filed a lawsuit against Advanced Micro Targeting (AMT), seeking a court order compelling the out-of-state petition signature firm to release documents tied to an ongoing investigation into alleged fraudulent business practices.

Hanaway initiated the investigation in November 2025 by issuing a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) after a report presented evidence suggesting AMT violated multiple Missouri laws. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the company allegedly employed illegal migrants to collect petition signatures and failed to disclose the workers’ ineligible employment status to its clients.

“My Office has good reason to believe AMT fraudulently employed illegal migrants to collect signatures and advance its agenda in Missouri, and we immediately launched an investigation to reveal the truth,” Hanaway said. “However, AMT has blatantly refused to cooperate with our investigation. If there has been any attempt to let unregulated, illegal labor hired by out-of-state interests determine our elections, we will root it out and hold bad actors accountable.”

 

Rogers said that the investigation is politically motivated and was sparked by TikTok chatter.

“So, basically, the Attorney General is a Republican. The Republicans made the allegation that we were hiring undocumented workers to circulate petitions based on TikTok chatter,” said Rogers.

He said that his attorneys responded to the Missouri Attorney General’s office request and ”it’s over.”

GoLocal reached out to the Missouri Attorney General’s office late on Friday to find out if the lawsuit and the Civil Investigative demand had been concluded.

Rogers could not produce any communications from the Missouri attorney general’s office or his own attorney stating that this matter was closed.