NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, a pair of right-wing fraudsters, lost a lawsuit in New York on Wednesday for their role in orchestrating a misleading robocall campaign to intimidate Black voters ahead of the 2020 election.
Attorney General Letitia James sued the duo in May 2021 after an investigation found they had violated state and federal laws by targeting voters in primarily Black areas that falsely claimed personal information from mail-in votes would be sent to law enforcement, debt collectors and the government.
“Your vote is your voice, and I am proud that today the court ruled in our favor to uphold the most important cornerstone of our democracy,” said James. “Wohl and Burkman engaged in a disgraceful campaign to intimidate Black voters, using threats and lies to keep them from making their voices heard in an attempt to secure the election for their preferred presidential candidate.”
The two con men used an organization called Project 1599 to send robocalls to about 85,000 voters in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio. About 5,500 New Yorkers were impacted, according to the AG’s office.
Both Wohl and Burkman pleaded guilty to felony telecommunications fraud charges in an Ohio federal court in October.
A judge sentenced each of them to two years probation, six months of which will be served while wearing a GPS ankle bracelet, $2,500 in fines and 500 hours of community service registering voters.
Damages for the New York lawsuit will be decided at a later date.
Wohl and Burkman are disgraced right-wing media personalities famous for failed smear campaigns against high-profile political figures.
The duo was connected to false rape allegations against Robert Mueller during his investigation into Donald Trump and hosted a surreal press conference in which they accused Elizabeth Warren of hiring a male escort for BDSM acts.
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