Jacob Wohl, Jack Burkman plead guilty to felony for 2020 election robocalls targeting Cleveland vote

[Eugene]

Source: Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Two right-wing conspiracy theorists who placed thousands of robocalls with false information to largely minority and Democratic voters in Cleveland in the months before the November 2020 election pleaded guilty on Monday to a felony charge.

Jacob Wohl, 24, of Irvine, California, and Jack Burkman, 56, of Arlington, Virginia, face a maximum of a year in prison after they pleaded guilty to a fifth-degree felony charge of telecommunications fraud.

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor James Gutierrez said the men also agreed to pay the maximum fine of $2,500 as part of the plea deal. Prosecutors dismissed 14 counts of telecommunications and bribery as part of the deal.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge John Sutula set sentencing for Nov. 29. He allowed Wohl and Burkman to attend the hearing via Zoom.

-snip-

Published: Oct. 24, 2022, 1:11 p.m.
By Cory Shaffer, cleveland.com


Read more: https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2022/10/jacob-wohl-jack-burkman-plead-guilty-to-felony-for-2020-election-robocalls-targeting-cleveland-voters.html

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Source: Associated Press

2 conservatives accused in hoax robocall scheme plead guilty

By MARK GILLISPIE
6 minutes ago

CLEVELAND (AP) — Two right-wing operatives pleaded guilty on Monday in Cleveland to single felony counts of telecommunications fraud for having placed thousands of false robocalls in Ohio that told people they could be arrested or be forced to receive vaccinations based on information they submitted in votes by mail.

Jacob Wohl, 24, of Irvine, California, and Jack Burkman, 56, of Arlington, Virginia, could each receive a year in prison when they are sentenced Nov. 29 in common pleas court. They were indicted in October 2020 on numerous counts of telecommunications fraud and bribery.

Wohl’s attorney, Mark Wieczorek, declined to comment about the his client’s plea. Burkman’s attorney, Brian Joslyn, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.

The two men were accused of arranging for a voice broadcast service to make about 85,000 robocalls to predominantly Black neighborhoods in Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois during the runup to the 2020 general election. Prosecutors said the pair were responsible for 3,500 calls to residents of Cleveland and East Cleveland.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-michigan-ohio-cleveland-california-9fd2a1c998ff26412fd53c83cb3efc09

[CurtEastPoint]

1. They deserve it and much more. And each other. And sorry but...

I see some daddy stuff going on here. Not judging but I'm sure they'd stand and condemn anyone different

[RussBLib]

2. frikkin' assholes!!

What the world needs now
is fewer pieces of shit

what spurs someone to do bullshit like this? Money?

[ZonkerHarris]

3. jail time in Ohio hopefully to be followed by more time served in Michigan on similar charges

[rsdsharp]

4. Are they gonna have a "press conference" on Burkman's front porch?

Will there be donuts? I insist on donuts.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Holy shit! Best news I've seen today!

And then there's this at the OP article link -

The men have been sued in federal court in New York City and face a $5.1 million fine levied by the Federal Communications Commission. Wohl and Burkman are appealing criminal charges filed against them in Detroit stemming from a similar bogus robocall scheme targeting Black voters.

Somebody needs to get O'Keefe too and that would be the perfect trifecta!!

(ETA - off to the greatest with thee)

[Maraya1969]

6. I hope they get the maximum but I don't think they will. These kinds always end up with slaps on

the wrists. Both of them have more money than brains.

[Mr.Mystery]

7. Usually these scum never get caught.

Hopefully, the ratf***ers will now see that there are CONsequences for their vile and treasonous behavior.

[Bengus81]

8. Trump humper Wohl has been pulling this shit for years..........

One year isn't long enough if he even gets that much. He'll be right back at it again if Trump runs.

[calimary]

27. And unfortunately, Jacob Wohl is pretty young. Only 24.

He's got a lifetime of criminal activity and dark-side cheating ahead of him.

[people]

9. Best news today

These are horrible racist fascist types who deserve much more punishment than they are likely to get. But, I'm glad, at least, they will now have felony convictions. What creepy PIGS!

[Initech]

10. The two shittiest scammers of all time finally get what they deserve!

[truthisfreedom]

11. Finally.

[Evolve Dammit]

12. Who funded them?? Two assholes didn't do this alone. n/t

[sakabatou]

13. Once again, Republicans always play dirty

[Stallion]

14. As Richard Pryor Would Say: "It Appears You Have a Criminal Record"

[paleotn]

15. 1 year max?! Not enough. Not nearly enough.

[not fooled]

16. Convicted felons...

...until the next puke president (pardons them).

[tonekat]

17. Pretty wimpy sentence

A year and a fine? May as well make it legal.

[BigmanPigman]

18. Rachel Maddow is covering this now

but oddly she seems to think that this is a good outcome. When I read this a few hours ago I thought it was an extremely light outcome.

[Scruffy1]

19. Same here.

Dropping 14 other counts for a guilty plea seems a little extreme to me. But on the good side the felony conviction will be on their record. I'm sure it will affect their future options.

[calimary]

28. Maybe she was looking at the lousy example they made of themselves?

After all, the only rule Republicans ever seem to remain mindful of is "don't get caught."

And they got caught. So they've already broken one of the Republicans' most hallowed "commandments."

[RussBLib]

20. And they have the balls to say the DEMS are the cheaters.

The hypocrisy, the racism, the lack of condemnation from the right. Disgusting POS's.

[LenaBaby61]

23. And they have the balls to say the DEMS are the cheaters.

And the progressives who signed that letter to let "putin be putin" don't care about this kind of thing though

Good Lord, some of these Dems 😑

[marble falls]

21. I know It's not dignified to show glee in the downfall of us others - but this is a comeuppance ...

... of which they are facing more of the same in the near future.

My advice to the judges regarding how many years, is: don't mind the mule, load the wagon.

[Gore1FL]

22. Prison time and owing millions in restitution is a decent start. nt

[Judi Lynn]

24. K & R. Thank you, Eugene. 👋⭐️

[mahatmakanejeeves]

25. An earlier LBN article about them:

Sat Aug 13, 2022: Justice Dept. weighs in on 2020 election robocall suit

[KY_EnviroGuy]

26. Nixon's grandkids and servants of Democracy's worst enemy.....

the worst being those funding their projects. The rich funders should serve time under the jail.

I recall Nixon was one of the first to use deceptive robocalls in a California election and it served him well.

This pair of amoral criminals should be made to go on all TV networks with a lengthy public apology and also made to expose their bosses.

Thank you for posting this issue, Eugene.

KY