Lobbyist Quietly Pleads Guilty After Embezzling $1 Million From Venture Capital PAC

A $9,180 shopping spree at a Manhattan clothing boutique.

A $67,000 automotive country club membership in New York.

And more than $5,000 in cash withdrawn from ATMs in Washington, D.C.

These are just a few of the ways prosecutors alleged Jonas Murphy, the now-former director of government affairs at the National Venture Capital Association, spent the more than $1 million he embezzled from his trade association’s political action committee, VenturePAC.

Murphy quietly pleaded guilty just before Christmas to felony interstate transportation of stolen property, according to the previously unreported plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

The crime carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Prosecutors estimated a sentence of 24 to 37 months and a potential fine of $10,000 to $100,000, according to the plea deal.

His sentencing is scheduled for June 30.

The National Venture Capital Association said in a statement to NOTUS that it was “disheartened to learn that a former employee exploited his institutional knowledge and our trust during a period of high staff turnover at our small organization.”

“As soon as the fraud was discovered, NVCA voluntarily disclosed the issue to the FEC and referred the matter to law enforcement. The PAC was quickly and fully restituted, suffered no financial loss, and all political commitments were fulfilled,” the National Venture Capital Association wrote.

On June 17, 2025, the Federal Election Commission sent a letter to VenturePAC flagging “itemized disbursements” in April 2025 “for which you have failed to include the purpose.”

The PAC’s original report to the FEC listed disbursements to several prominent people working in venture capital, including Scale Venture Partners founder Kate Mitchell, Lightspeed Venture Partners co-founder Christopher Schaepe and Reach Capital co-founder Shauntel Garvey.

But VenturePAC filed an amended report at the end of January reattributing each as an “unauthorized disbursement” to Murphy. VenturePAC also filed amended reports dating back to the end of 2023, updating a total of more than 200 transactions to venture capitalists as an “unauthorized disbursement” to Murphy.

“With stronger guardrails and oversight systems in place, including independent third-party expert PAC management, we are confident any suspicious activity would now be immediately identified,” the National Venture Capital Association wrote.

A screen shot on March 10, 2026, of Jonas Murphy’s LinkedIn page, which has since been taken down. LinkedIn

When reached for comment Tuesday, Murphy hung up on a NOTUS reporter. Soon after, his LinkedIn and X social media pages vanished.

Murphy’s lawyer, G. Allen Dale, declined to comment, citing the upcoming sentencing hearing.

Among questions left unanswered: Whether Murphy will seek a pardon from President Donald Trump, who during his second term has granted clemency to numerous well-connected men convicted of financial crimes.

Federal court documents indicate Murphy’s financial crime spanned significant time. From December 2023 to June 2025, Murphy made 211 unauthorized transfers to six personal bank accounts “without his employer’s knowledge and without its permission,” according to a statement of offense.

Source: U.S. District Court for District of Columbia

At the time, Murphy was treasurer of the National Venture Capital Association’s VenturePAC.

The political action committee “supports the re-election campaigns of members of Congress who are champions for our industry and the entrepreneurial ecosystem” and “helps amplify the startup ecosystem’s voice on Capitol Hill,” according to an FAQ published by the National Venture Capital Association.

It has also sometimes cheered Trump, noting how it was “eager to partner with the Trump-Vance Administration,” and praised Trump-led policy initiatives on cryptocurrency.

But from Dec. 1, 2023, to June 20, 2025, more than three-fourths of the nearly $1.4 million VenturePAC reported spending were “unauthorized disbursements” to Murphy, according to a NOTUS analysis of the PAC’s expenditures on the Federal Election Commission website.

VenturePAC later reported to the FEC that it received seven payments from mid-July 2025 to mid-September 2025 from Murphy totaling more than $1 million. The stated reason for the payments: “Reimbursement For Unauthorized Disbursement.”

The National Venture Capital Association also removed Murphy from its federal lobbying disclosure filing during the third quarter of 2025. Murphy had been registered to lobby for the trade association since the first quarter of 2020. He previously worked as a staffer for now-former Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania.

Murphy signed the plea deal on Dec. 11, 2025. On Jan. 21, 2026, he waived his right to a jury trial “with the consent of the United States Attorney and the approval of the Court.”

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA via AP

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which is led by former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, did not publicize the plea deal. But a spokesperson told NOTUS this week that an announcement would likely come closer to Murphy’s sentencing.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Murphy was listed as a realtor at The Parker Group, a Delaware- and Maryland-focused real estate company.

“Before entering real estate, Jonas represented startups and investors at a trade association in Washington, D.C. and served on Capitol Hill,” according to his biography on The Parker Group website, which describes his ability to “build trusted relationships with stakeholders at all levels.”

After NOTUS contacted The Parker Group on Tuesday, the webpage featuring Murphy’s biography disappeared, replaced by the text: “Happy Page Not Found.”

Julie Ward, a general manager at The Parker Group, confirmed to NOTUS on Tuesday evening that the company had “terminated” Murphy’s employment upon learning about his plea agreement.

She declined to comment further.