What did Scott Jenkins do? Culpeper Sheriff charged alongside 3 Virginia businessmen over bribery allegations

Scott Jenkins, the 51-year-old Sheriff of Culpeper, Virginia, has been indicted on several counts of financial offences for taking brides in order to abuse his elected office. He had been allegedly accepting bribes in the form of election campaign funds from eight people at least, including three notable businessmen and two undercover agents with the Federal Buereau of Investigation.

Scott Jenkins allegedly received bribes exceeding $72,500 from three businessmen - Rick Tariq Rahim, Fredric Gumbinner, and James Metcalf, and at least five others since April 2019, as per court documents. In exchange, he allegedly appointed the donors to the position of auxiliary deputy sheriffs.

He also issued Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office badges and identification cards to the individuals who bribed him. The indictment was unsealed on Thursday, June 29, 2023.

---

Scott Jenkins has been indicted for 16 offences

As per court documents that form part of the indictment, Scott Jenkins has been charged with one count of conspiracy, eight counts of federal programs bribery, and four counts of honest-services mail and wire fraud.

In exchange for the bribes he received, Jenkins appointed the donors to formal positions that entitled them to carry guns and a badge. The powers vested in these individuals is tantamount to those granted to law enforcement as paid deputy sheriffs. Jenkins’s co-conspirators were also arrested on June 29, 2023.

Apart from receiving bribes, Jenkins is also accused of coercing and manipulating public officials to approve proposal to restore the gun rights of Rick Tariq Rahim, one of the co-accused in the fraud. Allegedly, he tried to use his influence to pressure a Circuit Court judge and employees in the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office to process Rahim’s request.

In January, 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized almost all the funds from Jenkin’s accounts.

Court documents provide seemingly damning evidence of the conversations and monetary exchanges that occurred between Jenkins and the bribers. Jenkins did not disclose the amounts that he allegedly received in bribes in his campaign finance reports that were submitted to the Virginia Department of Elections. Speaking of Jenkins’s conduct, the indictment states:

“Jenkins used the powers of his office to enrich himself and to secure funds for his re-election”

Christopher Kavanaugh, the current U.S. Attorney made a statement regarding the indictment in which he said:

“Scott Jenkins not only violated federal law but also violated the faith and trust placed in him by the citizens of Culpeper County by accepting cash bribes in exchange for auxiliary deputy badges and other benefits… Our elected officials are expected to uphold the rule of law, not abuse their power for their own personal, financial gain”

Scott Jenkins and the other suspects are currently in federal custody and have not made their views on the indictment public as of the time of writing of this article.