Question 1, which would have allowed a second slots parlor in Massachusetts, pitched itself as a decidedly down-home proposal with a television ad that featured two retired cops standing with Micky Ward, the Lowell boxer immortalized in the movie “The Fighter.’’
But behind the made-in-Massachusetts veneer was an elaborate — and illegal — fund-raising scheme involving a Delaware shell company, an investment firm in Saipan, and wealthy donors from Cambodia and Japan, according to state campaign finance officials.
On Thursday, the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance slapped the sponsors of the question with a $125,000 fine for trying to use the scheme to hide the identity of donors, in violation of state law.
It was the second-largest fine ever levied by the agency, after a $185,000 penalty imposed in October against Canton businessman Vincent Barletta, who illegally funneled corporate money to candidates.
The slots-parlor fine was agreed to by Eugene A. McCain Jr., an enigmatic American-born developer of luxury resorts in Thailand who moved to Revere and launched the Horse Racing Jobs and Education Committee, which sponsored Question 1.
If approved, Question 1 would have licensed an additional slots parlor near a horse track, most likely Suffolk Downs in Revere. Massachusetts voters, however, overwhelmingly rejected the question in November, 61 percent to 39 percent.
State campaign finance officials said Thursday that, in addition to trying to hide the identity of donors, McCain’s committee aired ads that failed to list the donors’ names on screen, and neglected to file campaign finance reports in a timely manner.
“The committee respects the decision of the OCPF, acknowledges its own mistakes and acted promptly to correct its mistakes as soon as it was notified of the errors by the OCPF,’’ McCain said in a statement.
At the heart of the scheme, officials said, was a Delaware-based shell company called Capital Productions, which officials said was created in September 2015 for the sole purpose of raising money for Question 1.
Between Sept. 15, 2015 and Oct. 15, 2016, all but $2,322 of the $1.65 million that McCain’s committee collected came from Capital Productions, officials said.
Investigators later determined that donors from overseas were merely passing money through Capital Productions to hide their identities.
In fact, officials said, $854,538 came from a Japanese firm called Regent Able Associate Co; $390,000 came from Bridge Capital LLC, an investment firm in Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands, whose principals have launched slots parlors around the world; and $200,000 each came from donors named Sok Chenda of Cambodia and Toko Kobayashi of Japan.
“The committee knew that the contributions from Capital Productions actually originated with other entities and individuals,’’ OCPF said in a statement. “The total that was channeled to Capital Productions to disguise the true source of the funds was approximately $1.6 million.’’
Between Oct. 18 and Oct. 30, 2016, McCain’s committee also broadcast more than 400 ads that failed to list the names of its top five contributors on screen, as required by law.
Officials said McCain’s committee also broke state law by failing to file timely reports disclosing its campaign finance activity.
Celeste Myers, an activist who campaigned against Question 1, said opponents of the slots parlor “were already leery that this was being financed by billionaires from the other side of the globe.’’
“For me it raises some concern,’’ she said. “What were their true interests?’’
She applauded state campaign finance officials for levying the hefty penalty.
“This historic fine, hopefully, sends a message to anyone that is driving an initiative like this that they’re not going to get away with it in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,’’ she said. “That’s a beautiful thing.’’
Levenson can be reached at michael.levenson@globe.com
