Cleo Fields’ Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is F (33%). It details him as highly corrupt based on current and past issues. For example, ethics fines, False Claims Act scrutiny, and allegations of insider trading are a few. Also, his gerrymandering effort benefited his 2024 congressional bid. Further, a historical 1997 FBI video of him accepting $20,000 cash from former Governor Edwin Edwards, is a suspected bribe. He also faced a State Supreme Court bar from running for reelection in 2007.
CPI for Democratic Candidates Overview
Basically, this overview highlights where the Louisiana Democratic party is lacking by exposing networks that allow corruption. The average CPI score is a B (85%). While 14 candidates have scored A for their corruption levels, 4 candidates in leadership positions failed. They have stayed stagnant or got worse. One candidate scored a B.
| Democrat candidates U.S. Senate, U.S. House 2026 | Corruption Score is based on three data sources. 5 total points possible for each one. | ||||
| Data Source | Money Issued | Money Received | Disclosures or conflicts | ||
| 5 total points possible for each one | 5 | 5 | 5 | ||
| Total (cumulative): | 15 | ||||
| Candidate Average | B | 85% | 5.0 | 3.8 | 4.0 |
| Nick Albares | A | 100% | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Gary Crockett | A | 100% | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Jamie Davis | F | 56% | 5 | 1.4 | 2 |
| Lauren Jewett | F | 56% | 5 | 1.4 | 2 |
| Jim Long | A | 100% | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Troy Carter Sr | F | 53% | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Renada Collins | A | 97% | 4.8 | 5 | 4.8 |
| John Day | B | 80% | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Tia LeBrun | A | 100% | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Caleb Walker | A | 93% | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Conrad Cable | A | 100% | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Matt Gromlich | A | 100% | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Jessee Fleenor | A | 100% | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Larry Foy | A | 100% | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Lindsay Garcia | A | 100% | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Dan McKay | A | 100% | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Tania Nyman | A | 100% | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Cleo Fields | F | 33% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Cleo Fields Corruption Perception Index
Ethics Disclosures and Campaign Finance- Issues found
Ethics Fines
Recently, the Louisiana Ethics Board denied Cleo Fields’ appeal to waive fines related to missing campaign finance reporting deadlines. These fines stemmed from a 2019, 1997, and 1999 reports for his state senate campaigns.
Active Account: As of late 2023, the account in question still had $3,470 in remaining contributions. It also had over $300,000 in outstanding loans.
| Fields, Cleo | LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS | Campaign finance fine | 12/15/2025 | $2,510.00 |
Pandemic Oversight
The Fields Law Firm– No issues found
PPP Loans- Cleo Fields is being scrutinized for accepting donations from businesses that received taxpayer backed PPP disaster assistance. This raises concerns about the legitimacy of the need for the loan.
False Claims Act
The investigation into loan fraud among disaster recovery recipients and Louisiana politicians highlights concerns about the legitimacy of taxpayer-funded assistance. Over 100 businesses donated politically after receiving nearly $200 million in federal funds. Calls for accountability include repayments from recipients who misused funds. Government scrutiny of fraudulent PPP loans persists.
Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI)
Receiving donations from a federal award recipient is generally not a direct legal conflict of interest for a Congressman. This applies as long as the funds are legal campaign contributions and not direct bribes. Still, it raises significant ethical concerns about the appearance of influence. If the donation is funded by the grant itself, it is prohibited lobbying.
For instance, in November of 2023, Cleo Fields accepted donations from Ray J’s College of Hair. Since then, from 2024-2026, the Department of Education issued over $570,000 in taxpayer funded federal awards to the college.
| Fields, Cleo | RAY J’S COLLEGE OF HAIR, LLC | 11/21/2023 | $2,500.00 |
Join the Campaign for Judicial Integrity in Louisiana
Cleo Fields issued at least $10,000 to judicial campaigns.
| Marcelle, C. Denise | CLEO FIELDS CAMPAIGN FUND | 7/25/2019 | $250.00 |
| Marcelle, C. Denise | CLEO FIELDS | 12/7/2018 | $500.00 |
| Marcelle, C. Denise | CLEO FIELDS CAMPAIGN FUND | 10/20/2020 | $5,000.00 |
| Fields, Wilson | CLEO FIELDS | 6/23/2010 | $2,500.00 |
| Fields, Wilson | CLEO FIELDS | 1/25/2025 | $2,500.00 |
Insider Trading
Several media outlets have reported on the insider trading allegations involving Cleo Fields’s conveniently-timed stock trades.
News website NOTUS reported that Cleo Fields purchased nearly $300k of Oracle stock. This occurred in the days leading up to the public announcement of Oracle’s acquisition of Tik Tok. Fields’s membership on the House Committee on Financial Services has raised further red flags. Thus, leading some to believe that Fields violated Congressional “insider trading” laws (i.e. purchasing a company’s stock based on non-public information).
US Congressmen are prohibited from engaging in “insider trading” under the STOCK Act (2012).
Gerrymandering
Cleo Fields colluded with Republican Governor Jeff Landry in 2024 to create a gerrymandered US Congressional map that benefited Fields. One day after Landry signed the new law, Fields announced his bid for the 6th US Congressional district for 2024.
Background
In 1997, the FBI released video footage of Democratic congressman, Cleo Fields accepting $20k cash from former Governor Edwin Edwards. In the FBI tape, Governor Edwards talked about a deal for a casino license.
Edwards said, “You need to make sure that everyone involved is careful about how that’s passed out.” Fields had just run unsuccessfully for governor and said he had a $180,000 campaign debt.”
Further, the State Supreme Court barred Fields from running for reelection in 2007. This was due to questions about his official residency during his 2019 run for the State Senate.
How is the CPI measured?
The CPI index ranks candidates on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). For consistency, the total scores were based on these three principles:
- Campaign contributions issued (5 points)
- Campaign contributions received (5 points)
- Disclosures/conflicts of interest (5 points)
Only when candidates scored 15 for the whole package did they score 100 percent.
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