FBI Shut Down Inquiry Into Collins Donor Ties

The FBI shut down an inquiry in 2025 into allegations that a political adviser to Senator Susan Collins participated in a scheme to funnel illegal campaign contributions from a defense contractor, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter. The inquiry, which began under the Biden administration, collapsed after personnel involved in public corruption cases were fired, reassigned or resigned following President Donald Trump's return to the White House in January 2025. The investigation grew out of the prosecution of Martin Kao, former chief executive of Navatek, a Hawaii-based defense contractor. Kao pleaded guilty in 2022 to illegally funneling company money, including routing $150,000 through a shell organization called the Society of Young Women Scientists and Engineers to the 1820 PAC, a super PAC supporting Collins. He also reimbursed relatives who contributed to her campaign, concealing roughly $33,000 in donations. In February 2025, Kao was sentenced to 87 months in prison for separate charges including COVID-relief fraud, money laundering and bank fraud, and ordered to pay nearly $12.9 million in restitution.