In 2014, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sent a complaint to the IRS after it noticed 60 Plus lied on tax filings submitted to the IRS. “Out of one side of its mouth, the group told the Federal Election Commission it spent millions on political advertisements explicitly urging votes for or against candidates,” the complaint read, “and out of the other side of its mouth it told the IRS it spent almost nothing on political campaigns.” In fact, the amount the group claimed it spent on electioneering was noticeably less than what it had claimed in its own press releases announcing large ad buys.

The group’s president, Amy Noone Frederick, is a former lobbyist and one-time candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates. Her husband, Jeff Frederick, was a former member of the body and later served as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. Martin, the 60 Plus founder, has called Society Security “an antiquated relic of a bygone era.” Singer Pat Boone has been group’s national spokesperson since 2003 and regularly appears in their political ads. In 2011, Boone championed Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to privatize Medicare.

Sometimes, the group has taken positions directly opposed to the better interest of seniors. In Minnesota, 60 Plus supported proposed voter ID legislation, accusing AARP – a critic of the legislation – of not giving a “silver nickel about what Minnesota seniors want.” Senior citizens are among the most hurt by voter ID laws. As one expert with the Brennan Center pointed out, “There’s no question that citizens over 65 will be particularly impacted. The older you get, the more likely you won’t have an ID.” In another instance, the group was used in an AstroTurf campaign by the pharmaceutical industry to lobby against generic drugs. Seniors, purporting to be with 60 Plus but working for Bonner & Associates, called state legislators asking that the legislation be defeated. According to the Associated Press, Bonner was “a lobbying firm furnished by drug maker Pfizer.” (Bonner was in the headlines in 2009 after the firm sent faked letters asking lawmakers to oppose climate change legislation.)

60 Plus was also entangled in the controversy surrounding former lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s pay-for-play scheme. According to the Washington Monthly, “Abramoff directed the Louisiana Coushatta tribe to reissue a $25,000 check made out to [Tom] DeLay’s ARMPAC, and redirect it to 60 Plus.” The tribe was told the money would be used to help lobby for passage of a prescription drug package making its way through Congress.

Main Street Bondholders

60 Plus is one of the main Koch front groups involved in the fight to prevent debt-relief assistance to the Puerto Rican government. To this end, 60 Plus formed the “Main Street Bondholders Alliance” to attack the political leadership of Puerto Rico and the possibility of debt relief. In a press release, the Main Street Bondholders said it “denounces Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla and the Obama Administration’s plan to violate Puerto Rico’s Constitution by abandoning the Commonwealth’s debt obligations.” The group also sent members to a Senate Judiciary Committe hearing on the Puerto Rican debt crisis and afterwards held a press conference to draw attention to their opposition to fair treatment for Pureto Rico under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code. A CNN profile of Puerto Rican bondholders meant to “put a face on the crisis” in actuality featured four members of 60 Plus’s fake coalition – funded almost entirely by large donations.