Burkman, Wohl Heading To Wayne County Court In Robocall Case

WAYNE COUNTY, MI — Two men accused of orchestrating a robocall to suppress the vote in Detroit and other cities with significant minority populations have been bound over to circuit court on felony election law charges, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday.

Jack Burkman, 54, and Jacob Wohl, 22, are scheduled to appear in Wayne County Circuit Court on Nov. 12. They were bound over following a hearing last week before Judge Kenneth King in 36th District Court in Detroit, Nessel's office said.

The two men are charged with election law - intimidating voters, conspiracy to commit an election law violation, using a computer to commit the crime of election law and using a computer to commit the crime of conspiracy.

In a civil lawsuit, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last week ordered Burkman and Wohl to make “curative” robocalls to anyone who received the robocall the two allegedly orchestrated in August. Although they missed the original deadline, the curative robocall went out Oct. 30, according to Nessel's office.

Attorney General Nessel’s office filed criminal charges Oct. 1 accusing Burkman and Wohl of attempting to deter voters from participating in Tuesday’s general election by disseminating a robocall targeted at certain areas, including Detroit and other major U.S. cities with significant minority populations. The robocalls were made in late August and went out to nearly 12,000 residents in the Detroit area, Nessel's office said.

The caller, who claims to be associated with Project 1599 – an organization founded by Burkman and Wohl – falsely told people that mail-in voting, in particular, will allow personal information to become part of a special database used by police to track down old warrants and by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts, according to Nessel's office. The caller also deceptively claims the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will use the information to track people for mandatory vaccines, Nessel's office said.