Not off the hook yet - that's what the Guam Election Commission is saying about Congressman Mike San Nicolas' campaign after it filed required reports to the GEC eight months late.

As we reported Monday, the Guam Election Commission sent a letter to Del. San Nicolas and his sister Faith - who happens to be his treasurer. The letter stated failure to file required reports could result in misdemeanor charges and up to a $10,000 fine.

At issue, non-filing of the Congressman's 2018 year-end report and 2019 April and July quarterly reports. San Nicolas is required by federal law to file with the GEC - which is the state office of the federal election commission on Guam.

San Nicolas campaign committee chair and District Director Jennifer Winn beat the GEC deadline by thirty minutes. But according to GEC Director Maria Pangelinan, that doesn't mean the congressman is off the hook if the reports don't add up.

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"That would be up the Guam Election Commission," she said. "What was submitted will be reviewed and based on that review it will be up to the Guam Election Commission."

Meanwhile, John Paul Manuel - San Nicolas' former chief of staff and campaign chair alleges the congressman misused campaign funds for an affair with his mistress. He also alleges our congressman would routinely use campaign funds to reimburse himself for personal purchases. Manuel is calling on the GEC to audit San Nicolas' campaign finances.

"When the GEC does an audit of his campaign they should be able to provide all of the images of all the checks, all of the receipts for everything that was spent," he said. "And you know, if he doesn't have anything to hide, certainly he shouldn't have anything to fear."

An interesting turn of events now as Winn, in a letter to the GEC sent with the late reports, said San Nicolas' campaign is having issues with its campaign finance filings. Winn's letter states Responsible Guam is "in the process of rebuilding the data files" for campaign finance reports for the April to November of 2018 period. Winn's letter states the "30-day post-election report and all subsequent reports will be amended as soon as the prior data files are rebuilt."

According to the Federal Election Commission, "rebuilding data" is a process for compiling lost campaign finance information. We emailed Winn for clarification, but San Nicolas and his staff do not respond to KUAM.

Winn's letter states the FEC software was "not accessible" to new campaign staff, and that GEC notices were sent to old campaign staff.

We asked Manuel if the congressman was blaming him for campaign finance reporting issues.

"It's funny for a guy whose slogan is 'Responsible Guam', he never takes responsibility for himself," he responded.

We asked Pangelinan if a request to audit San Nicolas campaign was something the GEC would entertain.

"Any member of the public can review the reports first and foremost and if they have any requests those requests can be processed through the board of the Guam Election Commission," she said.

Interesting to note - if San Nicolas' campaign is "rebuilding" its campaign finance data for the time frame Manuel was campaign chair, how accurate would an audit be?

Meanwhile, the GEC is not alone in asking questions about the congressman's campaign. The Federal Election Commission has sent letters to San Nicolas' campaign in May, June and July. One letter cited San Nicolas' raising of funds for the next election - even though he didn't file a statement of candidacy for the 2022 campaign.

Another letter was a "failure to file" notice indicating a fine will be issued to the campaign since there is no grace period for late filings. San Nicolas' July quarterly was filed nearly two weeks late. In an email to KUAM, the FEC said fines must be voted on by the FEC board. Their next meeting is on Sept. 13.