Biden-era federal prosecutor hit with criminal investigation referral over alleged false statements to FBI
FIRST ON FOX — A former senior federal prosecutor who served in the Biden administration has been hit with a criminal investigation referral asking the Justice Department to look into...
By Fox News · Fox News
FIRST ON FOX — A former senior federal prosecutor who served in the Biden administration has been hit with a criminal investigation referral asking the Justice Department to look into whether she misled federal agents about her role in an investigation, Fox News Digital has learned. Jina Choi joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California in late 2023, shortly after which Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey tapped her to lead its Corporate and Securities Fraud Section, which handles major corporate and securities cases across the Bay Area, including Silicon Valley. Before joining the office, however, Choi had represented IRL, a social-media startup co-founded by Abraham Shafi. The company was built around organizing and connecting people through events. IRL shut down in 2023 after a board-directed investigation concluded that 95% of its users were likely bots, a finding Shafi disputed. Shafi was later indicted in 2025 on federal fraud and obstruction charges. The referral represents an unusually aggressive challenge to the conduct of a former prosecutor involved in the broader matter. FEDERAL JUDGE REFERS PHILADELPHIA DA LARRY KRASNER TO DOJ FOR POSSIBLE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION Cully Stimson, acting director of the Heritage Foundation’s Legal Policy Center and himself a former federal prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that, while it is common for defense teams to attack prosecutors, resorting to a criminal investigation referral is rare. The referral, sent on Tuesday by a lawyer Shafi retained separately from his defense, turns on whether Choi remained involved in the IRL investigation after joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office despite being screened from the matter because of her prior representation of the company. The Justice Department generally has no obligation to respond to referrals like this. Prosecutors said Choi was walled off from the federal investigation involving IRL and Shafi. But Shafi’s lawyer now alleges that inter…