Sheriff gave untrained people jobs for $75,000 in bribes in Virginia, feds say
A former Virginia county sheriff was sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with taking more than $75,000 in bribes and campaign contributions and giving untrained businessmen law enforcement authority, federal prosecutors said.
Scott Jenkins, 53, who served as Culpeper County sheriff from 2012 to 2023, was convicted on one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud and seven counts of bribery in December, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia said in a March 21 news release.
“Jenkins violated his oath of office and the faith the citizens of Culpeper County placed in him when he engaged in a cash-for-badges scheme,” Acting U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Lee said in the release.
McClatchy News reached out to Jenkins’ attorneys March 21 but did not receive an immediate response. In court documents filed March 17, Jenkins’ attorneys said he “adamantly maintains his innocence.”
Jenkins took bribes and gave businessmen with “no connection to Culpeper County and no real interest in public service” roles as auxiliary deputies, according to a sentencing memorandum filed March 13.
The businessmen wanted to become deputies because they thought the role would allow them leniency if they were pulled over and the ability to carry a concealed weapon without a permit in all 50 states, the memo said.
Jenkins was indicted in June 2023 along with three others — Rick Rahim, Fredric Gumbinner and James Metcalf — connected to the conspiracy, McClatchy News previously reported.
According to the indictment, Jenkins took the bribes from those three men, along with at least five others and two undercover FBI agents.
Although the people accused of bribing Jenkins did not receive proper training, they were given roles as law enforcement officials, prosecutors said.
Sometimes, Jenkins even went as far as to create fake documents to support the fraud, according to the indictment.
He also allowed Rahim — a convicted felon — to get his firearm rights back for a cash bribe of $10,000, according to the indictment.
Culpeper County is 70-miles southwest from Washington, D.C.
