A Virginia sheriff has been indicted on federal public corruption fees for allegedly handing out auxiliary deputy sheriff’s appointments in change for money bribes and massive donations to his reelection marketing campaign.
Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins is charged in a 16-count indictment, at the side of 3 businessmen who’re accused of paying bribes to Jenkins. The indictment unsealed Thursday fees all 4 with conspiracy, cord fraud, and bribery relating to techniques receiving federal budget.
First elected sheriff in 2011, Jenkins is accused of soliciting and accepting bribes totaling a minimum of $72,500 from the 3 indicted businessmen and a minimum of 5 others, together with two FBI undercover brokers throughout his 2019 reelection marketing campaign.
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“Jenkins used the powers of his administrative center to counterpoint himself and to safe budget for his re-election,” the indictment states. In change, Jenkins appointed his co-conspirators as auxiliary deputy sheriffs — volunteers who won a badge and a gun, and typically had the similar legislation enforcement powers as paid deputy sheriffs.
The indictment additionally accuses Jenkins of pressuring a Circuit Court docket pass judgement on and staff within the Commonwealth’s Legal professional’s Place of job to procedure and approve a petition via one among his alleged co-conspirators, northern Virginia businessman Rick Tariq Rahim, to revive his gun rights. The petition used to be granted in August 2020. Rahim used to be later sworn in as an auxiliary deputy sheriff and issued a badge, a gun and a sheriff’s administrative center id card. The indictment does now not say why Rahim misplaced his gun rights.
Jenkins, Rahim and two different businessmen — Fredric Gumbinner and James Metcalf — had been arrested early Thursday and made preliminary appearances in U.S. District Court docket in Charlottesville on Thursday afternoon. All 4 had been launched on non-public recognizance.
Lawyers for the defendants didn’t in an instant reply to telephone messages and emails in the hunt for remark. Jenkins didn’t in an instant reply to an e mail despatched to his administrative center.
“Scott Jenkins now not most effective violated federal legislation but in addition violated the religion and accept as true with positioned in him via the electorate of Culpeper County via accepting money bribes in change for auxiliary deputy badges and different advantages,” U.S. Legal professional Christopher Kavanaugh mentioned in a remark.
Sheriff Scott Jenkins speaks on Jan. 20, 2020, in Richmond, Virginia. Jenkins is accused of appointing businessmen as his auxiliary deputy sheriffs in change for bribes. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Pictures)
In December 2019, Jenkins made headlines when he vowed to deputize county citizens if the then-newly elected Democratic majority within the state legislature handed what he referred to as “additional pointless gun restrictions.”
“I plan to correctly display and deputize hundreds of our law-abiding electorate to offer protection to their constitutional proper to possess firearms,” Jenkins wrote on Fb on the time.
The county of greater than 50,000 folks is southwest of northern Virginia’s closely populated suburbs.
The indictment says the bribery scheme started in April 2019, when Jenkins used to be working for reelection in a contested race. In June 2019, he allegedly texted a businessman known most effective as “Person 1” and mentioned he used to be “having a look to construct the struggle chest and get donations in quickly.” The next month, Jenkins texted the businessman once more, pronouncing, “Seems like my opponent is hooking up with Democrats to run an assault marketing campaign so we are beginning to spend. Let me know when you have any success with somebody.”
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All over a gathering on July 31, 2019, Jenkins, Person 1 and Rahim met and mentioned Rahim’s need to get his gun rights restored and develop into an auxiliary deputy sheriff, the indictment states. About 5 weeks later, $6,000 in money used to be deposited right into a joint bank account held via Jenkins and his partner, the indictment states.
Ten days later, Rahim’s corporate, BV Control LLC, wrote a take a look at for $17,500 payable to Jenkins with a memo line declaring “Mortgage Proceeds.” The similar day, an unnamed affiliate of Rahim’s wrote a take a look at for $17,500 payable to Jenkins with a memo line referencing “mortgage.” The indictment says Jenkins repaid the “mortgage” to Rahim’s affiliate on Jan. 5, 2022, however as of January 2023, he had now not repaid the “mortgage” to Rahim.
In marketing campaign finance stories filed with the Virginia Division of Elections, Jenkins didn’t file receiving any contributions from Rahim or any industry related to him, the indictment says.
The indictment alleges Jenkins lined up the scheme via encouraging the fee of bribes in money or not directly thru others, including he additionally disguised bribe bills as cash used for firearms purchases.
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In line with the indictment, Rahim and Gumbinner, a industry affiliate of Rahim’s, agreed Rahim would facilitate getting Gumbinner sworn in as an auxiliary deputy sheriff in change for a $20,000 fee to Jenkins. It mentioned Gumbinner paid $20,000 to one among Rahim’s companies, Meals Truck Corporate LLC. 5 months later, Jenkins appointed Gumbinner as an auxiliary deputy sheriff.
In August 2022, Person 1 contacted Metcalf and advised him that he may just develop into an auxiliary deputy sheriff in change for a $5,000 contribution to the sheriff’s reelection marketing campaign, the indictment states. Metcalf agreed, and Jenkins signed an order appointing him to the submit. The next day to come, Metcalf passed Jenkins an envelope containing a $5,000 take a look at from his corporate, Yona Methods Staff, made payable to a marketing campaign committee to Jenkins, the indictment says.
