Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman pled guilty to a case stemming from a robocall scheme they carried out in the weeks before the 2020 election. The duo placed thousands of calls to primarily Democratic and minority voters in Cleveland, Ohio that contained false information in an effort to suppress the vote.
On Monday, the conspiracy theorists reportedly pled guilty to one felony charge apiece of telecommunications fraud. They face a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a maximum fine of $2,500 each as part of their plea deal.
The robocalls featured a woman cautioning prospective voters that police and debt collectors could use information they provided while voting by mail to arrest them on outstanding warrants or collect debts. The calls also warned that the federal government might use this information to implement a mandatory vaccine program. Both claims were false.
Wohl’s and Burkman’s robocalls also allegedly were placed to voters in Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and New York City. They reportedly made a total of 85,000 such calls to heavily Democratic areas in those locales.
The calls were designed to suppress voter turnout in these areas, according to the charges filed against them.
The duo has appealed the felony charges against them over robocalls in Michigan to the state supreme court. New York is also pursuing a civil case against them. As of August, that case was ongoing.
Last year, the Federal Communication Commission recommended that they be fined $5.1 million for the robocalls. This was the largest proposed fine in FCC history over robocalls.
Wohl and Burkman will reportedly be sentenced in Ohio on Nov. 29.
