The FBI Is Probing A Hawaii Defense Contractor s Donations To US Sen. Susan Collins - Honolulu Civil Beat
Martin Kao already faces criminal charges for defrauding a coronavirus relief aid program of millions of dollars. Reading time: 4 minutes.
WASHINGTON The FBI has launched a new criminal investigation into Hawaii defense contractor Martin Kao over campaign donations he made in support of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins after she helped steer an $8 million contract to his company, Navatek LLC, in 2019.
According to a recently unsealed search warrant affidavit, the case stems from a $150,000 donation a mysterious Hawaii company, the Society of Young Women Scientist and Engineers, made to 1820 PAC, a pro-Collins political action committee.
The FBI is investigating whether a U.S. defense contractor illegally directed money to Sen. Susan Collins’s 2020 congressional campaign, Fox News has learned.
Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) U.S authorities are investigating allegations that a Hawaii-based defense contractor illegally donated $150,000 to the reelection fund of a Maine senator who advocated for an $8 million Navy contract with the company, according to court documents unsealed this week.
A U.S. judge approved an FBI warrant application to search a hard-drive containing images of an iPhone belonging to Martin Kao, former CEO of Navatek, now known as Martin Defense Group, based in Hawaii with offices in Maine, Washington, D.C. and other states.
The warrant was also for an iPhone belonging to the company’s former chief financial officer. The news of the probe was first reported by the Axios website.
In 2019, she announced that Navatek would receive an $8m contract from the Defence Department, which she said she strongly advocated in a press release regarding the contract.
Three months later, Mr Kao s wife, Tiffany Lam, started an LLC named The Society of Young Women Scientist and Engineers which was used to move $150,000 from Navatek into Ms Collins 1820 PAC, according to a warrant.
It is illegal under campaign finance law for contractors to make political campaign contributions, and it bars individuals from making donations under someone else s name.
Investigators have claimed that Mr Kao reimbursed several family members for their donations to Ms Collins campaign totaling $44,000.