AG Nessel Files Felony Charges Against Jack Burkman, Jacob Wohl in Voter-Suppression Robocalls Investigation
Jack Burkman, 54, and Jacob Wohl, 22, are each charged with:
- One count of election law – intimidating voters, a five-year felony;
- One count of conspiracy to commit an election law violation, a five-year felony;
- One count of using a computer to commit the crime of election law – intimidating voters, a seven-year felony; and
- Using a computer to commit the crime of conspiracy, a seven-year felony.
Burkman, an Arlington, Virginia resident, and Wohl, a Los Angeles, California resident, allegedly attempted to discourage voters from participating in the general election by creating and funding a robocall targeted at certain urban areas, including Detroit. The calls were made in late August and went out to nearly 12,000 residents with phone numbers from the 313 area code.
During its investigation, Nessel’s office communicated with attorneys general offices in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois, all of which reported similar robocalls being made to residents in their states who live in urban areas with significant minority populations. It's believed around 85,000 calls were made nationally, though an exact breakdown of the numbers of calls to each city or state are not available.
Attorney General Nessel’s office is also grateful for the help of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, his staff and other local law enforcement officials who assisted special agents from the Michigan Department of Attorney General as part of this investigation.
https://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,4534,7-359--541052--,00.html