Federal Judge Lets New York Attorney General Try to Sue Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman for $2.75 Million

ADAM KLASFELD May 19th, 2021, 12:19 pm

Facing criminal prosecution in two states, hard-right hoaxers Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman had their civil liabilities dramatically expand on Wednesday, with a federal judge giving the green light to New York Attorney General Letitia James’s (D) effort to stick them and others with a $2.75 million fine for robocalls allegedly designed for voter suppression.

“There is no doubt that the NY AG has a strong interest in stopping Defendants’ allegedly discriminatory efforts to impair New York citizens’ voting rights,” U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero found in a 14-page order.

The ruling means that the attorney general will join the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and a little more than a half-dozen voters in their lawsuit accusing Wohl, Burkman, their companies, and unnamed alleged accomplices of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act by scaring thousands of New Yorkers about the effects of voting by mail.

The automated calls, allegedly targeting largely Black and Latino populations in New York, Ohio and Michigan, told recipients that voting by mail would allow police to track down old warrants, help the CDC issue mandatory vaccines and let credit card companies pursue outstanding debt. The robocalls sparked Wohl and Burkman’s prosecutions in Ohio and Michigan.

{snip}