The US House Ethics Committee said Friday that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez must repay $2,983.28 to close a years-long probe into her 2021 Met Gala appearance, where she wore a white gown emblazoned with “Tax the Rich.” The bipartisan panel found the New York Democrat accepted impermissible gifts by failing to cover the full market value of her apparel and by accepting free admission for her partner, Riley Roberts. According to the committee’s report, Ocasio-Cortez had already paid about $990 for the dress, shoes, handbag and jewelry but still owes $2,733.28 to reach fair-market rates, plus $250 to reimburse the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute for Roberts’ meal. The probe concluded she did not intentionally violate House rules but had nevertheless fallen short of gift-rule requirements. Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff said the lawmaker "accepts the ruling and will remedy the remaining amounts," after which the committee will consider the matter closed. The finding caps an investigation that began in December 2022 following a complaint by a watchdog group over whether the congresswoman improperly accepted freebies at the $35,000-per-ticket fundraising gala.