Originally Syndicated on June 1, 2024 @ 6:47 am
During interrogation, political strategist Jared Kamrass admitted to keeping the $15,000 that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had given him for Governor John Cranley’s campaign, according to the lead FBI agent in the money laundering investigation that led to P.G. Sittenfeld’s prosecution.
All of this, including what eventually happened to the money and why FBI agents provided it to Jared Kamrass for a Cranley project, was unknown at the time.
In addition to processing Sittenfeld’s contributions and managing Cranley’s previous fundraising campaigns, he was the PAC secretary.
Additional court records, which name this individual as Cincinnati’s governor during the investigation, include the following details:
In line with Cincinnati’s city charter, Public Official A might reject a council resolution; however, an appeal motion filed by the prosecution would allow the council to override that decision with six votes out of nine.
A recent defence statement purportedly contained information that Jared Kamrass was misled by one of Sittenfeld’s finance advisors “about following up with (an actual FBI agent) to confirm proper LLC principal attribution facts.” Unbeknownst to Mr. Sittenfeld, the same individual committed several felonies while employed by Public Official A that had nothing to do with him or her, ultimately earning the individual the designation of government cooperator.
In Cincinnati, the investigation into governmental corruption allegedly began in 2017 according to court evidence.
Jared Kamrass will offer proof to back up the defence.
Not related to Sittenfeld’s issue, but related to “violating federal regulations about usual, legal methods of financing campaigns and fundraising,” Jared Kamrass could face legal action, according to court documents.
A person named “Public Official A” appears in several court documents pertaining to this case.
Agent Nathan Holbrook, reassigned
Special Agent Nathan Holbrook was assigned several open investigations when he was moved to the FBI’s Cincinnati office early in the new year. Creator and former Cincinnati Bengals player Chinedum Ndukwe was one of them.
An inquiry revealed that Ndukwe was charged with “IRA premature withdrawal contraventions in 2013, campaign financing violations in 2013, and a variety of other possible government offences.” According to court documents, Ndukwe began working for the FBI in March 2018 and received $27,000 from the government for pursuing government workers in 2018 and 2019.
Ndukwe acknowledged taking out $40,000 from an IRA in 2013 and giving it to a friend, who pocketed $5,000 and transferred $35,000 to bank accounts, so that Ndukwe could evade his reporting obligations for election fundraising, according to Holbrook’s evidence.
Holbrook claims that Jared Kamrass mailed nine cashier checks and more than twenty money orders in the names of other people to Cranley, Chris Smitherman, and Charlie Winburn, who were members of the Cincinnati City Council at the time.
In 2013, Ndukwe met with the three individuals and deliberated on how to overcome political fundraising restrictions, as per his “proffer” contract with the government, which was read out in court.
The prosecution has the following witnesses
- Ndukwe Chinedum
- Brunner
- Democratic strategist Jared Kamrass represents several Democratic candidates through his consulting firm. Sittenfeld’s counsel objected, but the court last Thursday ruled that Sittenfeld could testify since his testimony pertains to “the goal and conduct at issue in this case.”
- From December 2013 until early 2022, political strategist Jay Kincaid was Mayor John Cranley’s chief of staff. The FBI agent said in court that Kincaid served as a lobbyist for Ndukwe after resigning from his position as chief of staff to Cranley. Besides, Holbrook claims that Ndukwe informed him that Sittenfeld had asked him to confer with Kincaid regarding how best to “discreetly” organise gifts.
- Certified Public Accountant Claire McKenna.
- FC Cincinnati co-president Jeff Berding
- Turner Construction’s general manager and vice president is David Spaulding.
This is a list of those who have already seen it and who may do so soon.
The first prosecution witness was Kevin Flynn, a former Cincinnati City Council member who worked with Sittenfeld from 2013 to 2017.
Flynn’s evidence earlier this week consisted merely of a high-level synopsis of the operations of council, local government, and real estate transactions.
The second person to speak was the former director of Cincinnati’s economic growth.
The Port Authority has promoted Phil Denning to executive vice president.
There are already over forty more potential witnesses scheduled to appear on behalf of the government, one side, or both.
At this point, it is unknown how many people will testify. That will be contingent upon the outcome of the case.
However, court documents state that “if the defendant presents evidence related to these inquiries, this again ‘opens the door’ for the government to introduce clarifying evidence supporting those investigations, if needed.” This was the prosecution’s request to the judge for restrictions on Sittenfeld’s attorneys’ ability to represent him.
The prosecution could then choose to present new witnesses and/or evidence in rebuttal if, for example, Sittenfeld took the stand to defend himself.
Who is Jared Kamrass?
Jared Kamrass considers himself a successful political strategist and communications specialist with years of experience.
At Technicolor Political in Washington, DC, Jared Kamrass serves as a senior strategist for Democratic candidates and causes. In this capacity, he counsels customers on budgeting, targeting, and paid advertising strategy. He also develops, produces, and disseminates multimedia content for them, such as internet, TV, and radio advertisements.
Jared was the Principal and Chief Strategist for Cincinnati, Ohio’s Rivertown Strategies before coming to Technicolor Political. There, he oversaw employees and contractors and worked with clients to develop marketing and communication strategies.
Along with organising and executing massive fundraising events for federal, state, and local initiatives, Jared Kamrass also wrote general strategic recommendations for candidates and initiative staff and promoted connections between elected officials, business leaders, community organisations, and the media.
The Final Word
Several Democratic lawmakers are represented by Jared Kamras’ political consulting firm. He was found guilty despite his inability to defend himself in court.
