Jacob Wohl | |
|---|---|
 Wohl in 2020 | |
| Born | Jacob Alexander Wohl December 12, 1997 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Known for | False claims against political figures |
| Criminal charges | Telecommunications fraud |
| Criminal penalty | Fine, probation, and community service |
Jacob Alexander Wohl (born December 12, 1997) is an American far-right conspiracy theorist, fraudster, and convicted felon. Wohl and lobbyist Jack Burkman have been responsible for multiple unsuccessful plots to frame public figures for fictitious sexual assaults. The pair were allegedly behind plots in October 2018 against U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in April 2019 against 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, and in April 2020 against White House Coronavirus Task Force member Anthony Fauci.
Wohl has created and promulgated other false or unfounded claims and conspiracy theories, mainly against Democratic Party politicians such as Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Ilhan Omar, and Elizabeth Warren. To aid his schemes, Wohl has created multiple fake private intelligence agencies, and has fabricated death threats and protests against himself. Formerly highly active on Twitter, and known for his online trolling on social media, Wohl has been banned from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for creating fake accounts in violation of site policies.
In August 2020, Wohl and Burkman made tens of thousands of robocalls to residents of battleground states, in a campaign that prosecutors have alleged intentionally targeted non-white communities to spread disinformation in an attempt to suppress voting in the 2020 presidential election. As a result of the campaign, Wohl and Burkman each pleaded guilty to one felony charge of telecommunications fraud in Ohio, were found to have violated federal and state civil rights laws in a civil case in New York, and are facing a criminal suit in Michigan. In June 2023, the Federal Communications Commission imposed a fine of more than $5 million against both Wohl and Burkman over the robocall scheme.
Wohl founded several investment funds as a teenager. The National Futures Association banned Wohl for life in 2017, after investigating multiple investor complaints against him and concluding that Wohl was guilty of refusing to cooperate with the NFA as required, misrepresenting investments, and misleading investors. The same year, the Arizona Corporation Commission charged Wohl with 14 counts of securities fraud and ordered him to pay approximately $35,000 in restitution and penalties. In August 2019, Wohl was arrested on felony charges for allegedly illicit securities sales that took place in July and August 2016. Wohl pleaded not guilty to two charges of selling unregistered securities in February 2020.