According to Federal Election Commission records, Foster had only made a single $500 donation to Schock’s congressional campaign fund. He and Berman hope to convince a federal judge to certify the case as a class action suit, which would then result in a letter being sent to every single one of Schock’s many donors across the country, informing them that they have the opportunity to become parties to the lawsuit.

Such a legal campaign—typically used against companies that make defective products—is unprecedented in the annals of American politics. As such, the plaintiffs will have to overcome a high legal burden, and need to prove that Schock deliberately made false assertions to donors and raised their money for purposes other than the furtherance of his political career.

A source familiar with Schock’s operation told The Daily Beast that, as to “the substantive claim that he defrauded donors for the purpose of living high, nobody can be able to prove that.” He called the case “frivolous.” This source explained that Schock resigned over his misuse of public money, not campaign funds, the latter of which candidates have wide, legal latitude in spending. “It’s classic trial lawyer bullshit and it’ll go nowhere.”