A federal grand jury in New York indicted Jenkins Wednesday, as well as Robert Zients, the former Obama official whom Jenkins had appointed as the head of the 2010 economic stimulus in his new role as director of the Small Business Administration, and Bill Yablonsky, the group’s registered lobbyist. Jenkins and Zients both resigned following their indictments, which also named Strohm, now managing director of Level 3 Capital. The four are accused of defrauding Maryland-based Silver Rails Corp., a nonprofit with IRS-listed “no political contributions” in its Internal Revenue Service filing, in a failed investment scheme. Smith, who oversaw the group’s lobbying efforts at the time, was charged with tax evasion.
Jenkins’ accuser, lawyer Janice Bassil, sent a letter to Jenkins’ attorney Thursday in response to a statement Jenkins made on Instagram in which he admitted “profound damage, fear and regret to my family” after Bassil claimed Jenkins retaliated against her for reporting him to the FBI. “Dr. Jenkins’s arrogant and defensive posturing displays zero concern for the initial efforts by the FBI and prosecutors seeking evidence of his misdeeds,” Bassil said in the letter. “‘Probe’ is a very broad term, and all the authors of this post know just how little Dr. Jenkins has to fear about the integrity of the FBI and the integrity of the United States Attorney’s Office.”
Updated (8:46 a.m.): A federal judge allowed attorneys for BESI to withdraw from the case on Friday.