FBI sought a bribery probe touching Susan Collins before anti-corruption units were dismantled

The meeting. In late 2019, Collins super PAC chairman Scott Reed asked Navatek executives at a Washington bakery for $500,000. Navatek chief Martin Kao wired an initial $150,000 through a shell company, telling colleagues in an internal email that Susan Collins (Sen-R Maine) had committed to securing $32 million in naval contracts. The evidence. Federal agents assembled a 60-slide prosecution memo by late 2024 showing Collins' office steered an earlier contract, followed by an aide emailing that Collins wished to thank Kao personally. No charges were filed against Collins or her staff. Where it stands. The FBI closed its inquiry into Reed in 2025 citing doubts over Kao's credibility, while an agency spokesperson stated investigators found nothing implicating the senator.

What the contractor campaign finance case ultimately yielded:

• Martin Kao received a 33-month sentence in October 2025, running concurrently with an 87-month term for pandemic loan fraud.
• Two Navatek co-defendants who did not implicate lawmakers received 12 months of probation each.
• Collins' campaign disgorged $205,600 in conduit donations in 2021 after the straw-donor scheme became public.