The FBI closed an inquiry in 2025 into allegations that a top aide 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 case. The investigation began during the Biden administration after Martin Kao, CEO of Navatek, a military contractor based in Hawaii, alleged he had discussed circumventing campaign finance laws with a political adviser to Collins, a Republican from Maine.
Kao is currently serving an 87-month prison sentence for wire fraud, money laundering, and bank fraud, related in part to a separate scheme to defraud pandemic aid programs. According to Kao’s claims, executives at Navatek met in 2019 with Scott Reed, a fundraiser for Collins, who requested a large donation despite federal laws prohibiting direct contributions from federal contractors. Kao said he agreed to contribute on the condition that Collins’s team would secure millions in naval contracts for the company in Maine. To facilitate the donation, Kao created a shell company and sent $150,000 to a super PAC linked to Collins.
Around that time, Navatek was awarded an $8 million contract for a naval boat hull research project. Collins visited the company’s offices in Maine to mark the contract, sharing a photograph on social media in which she was seen holding a model boat beside Kao.
The FBI’s inquiry was ended during the Trump administration after senior officials expressed doubts about the credibility of Kao’s account, which he had offered shortly before pleading guilty in 2022. Agents did not find sufficient evidence to substantiate Kao’s allegations against Collins or her advisers, including Reed. However, officials acknowledged that further investigation might have uncovered additional information.
The closure of the investigation came as Collins faced a competitive midterm re-election campaign that could influence Senate control. The timing of the decision prompted accusations that political considerations influenced the FBI’s actions. Collins’s deputy chief of staff, Annie Clark, dismissed the allegations as “categorically false,” stating the campaign fully cooperated with the FBI, providing documents and serving as witnesses. Clark also said the campaign ultimately returned the disputed funds, which were redirected to support the rebuilding of a school in Frenchville, Maine, after a 2021 fire.
The controversy intensified scrutiny of the Justice Department’s approach under the Trump administration, which saw the dismantling of the main unit responsible for public corruption investigations and reports of dropped cases involving Republicans and Trump allies, including those linked to Kao’s conduct.
Collins, considered a moderate within her party, has often distanced herself from former President Trump’s policies. Her Democratic opponent in 2024, Troy Jackson, a former Maine State Senate speaker, has used the FBI inquiry to allege corruption and tie Collins politically to Trump, escalating an already hard-fought campaign in the blue-leaning state.