A former senior federal prosecutor who served during the Biden administration has been the subject of a criminal investigation referral to the Justice Department, alleging she misled FBI agents about her involvement in a case, Fox News reported Thursday.
Jina Choi joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California in late 2023 and was later tapped to lead its Corporate and Securities Fraud Section. Before joining the office, she had represented IRL, a social-media startup co-founded by Abraham Shafi. The company shut down in 2023 after an internal investigation concluded that most of its users were likely bots. Shafi was later indicted in 2025 on federal fraud and obstruction charges.
Prosecutors have said Choi was screened from the IRL investigation because of her prior work for the company. However, a lawyer retained by Shafi sent a referral to the Justice Department on Tuesday asking authorities to investigate whether Choi made false statements to FBI agents about her role.
According to the referral, Choi told agents in a July interview that she did “not have any kind of role in the investigation.” Shafi’s lawyer claims internal emails and FBI interview records show she remained involved, including discussing adding personnel to the case team, inquiring about the assigned FBI agent, sending press coverage of the case to other prosecutors, and keeping a written case tracker that listed the Shafi investigation.
The defense argues these actions, combined with her prior representation of IRL, create a conflict that could taint the prosecution.
