New York City Mayor Eric Adams charged with fraud, accepting $10 million in improper campaign contributions
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with five counts in an alleged long-standing conspiracy connected to improper benefits, illegal campaign contributions and an attempted cover-up, according to a sweeping indictment unsealed Thursday morning.
Adams, 64, faces one count of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy, two counts of solicitation of a contribution from a foreign national and one count of bribery, according to the indictment, charges that expose the mayor to significant prison time if convicted.
Adams, who was elected in 2021, is the first sitting New York City mayor to ever face charges. He will be arraigned before a federal magistrate at noon Friday, according to the court.
Many of the accusations relate to Adams' relationship with wealthy foreign businesspeople and Turkish officials.
Prosecutors say Adams accepted more than $100,000 in improper benefits, many of which came in the form of flight upgrades and stays in luxury hotels, none of which were publicly divulged as required.
He also allegedly received illegal campaign contributions to his first run for mayor and ongoing fundraising for a reelection run.
"ERIC ADAMS, the defendant, sought and accepted illegal campaign contributions in the form of 'nominee' or 'straw' contributions, meaning that the true contributors conveyed their money through nominal donors, who falsely certified they were contributing their own money," the indictment states.
"As a result of those false certifications, ADAMS's 2021 mayoral campaign received more than $10,000,000 in public funds," the indictment alleges.
Adams addressed the press shortly after the indictment was unsealed, alongside a group of supporters, maintaining his innocence and vowing to fight the charges.
"I ask New Yorkers to hear our defense before making any judgments," he said at the news conference, during which he was shouted at by some hecklers.
Adams vowed to continue to serve his duties.
"My day to day will not change. I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do," a defiant Mayor Adams said yesterday amid growing calls for him to step down.
And it appears he is keeping to his word, at least for now. Adams' official Friday schedule shows a couple of meetings early in the morning, plus a couple more happenings late into the afternoon/evening.
"Everyone who knows me knows I follow campaign rules and I follow the law," he reiterated several times.
Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, however, alleged that Adams knowingly violated those laws for years.
Williams outlined allegations in the indictment in a news conference Thursday and alleged Adams provided special favors for Turkish business leaders and government officials in exchange for campaign funds and lavish gifts, including upgraded airline tickets and trips and lavish hotel rooms.
"Adams started accepting undisclosed luxury travel benefits at least as early as 2016. He took these benefits nearly every year through 2021," he said.
The gifts were worth over $100,000 and none of it was disclosed, according to Willaims. In fact, in some cases he told staffers that he paid for the trips when that was a lie, the U.S. attorney alleged. Adams, when he was the Brooklyn borough president, allegedly solicited foreign campaign contributions while traveling in Turkey in January 2019.
"I want to be clear these upgrades and freebies were not part of some frequent flier or loyalty program available to the general public. As we alleged, this was a multi-year scheme to buy favor with a single New York City politician on the rise, Eric Adams," Williams said.
The indictment alleges Adams used straw donations to apply for the city's matching funds program, which gives candidates public funds to match small donations only from New York City residents for any political campaign. As early as 2018, Adams and an unidentified staff member were in communication with a Turkish businessperson who funneled tens of thousands of dollars to straw donors for Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign, according to the indictment.
"All told, the 2021 Campaign reaped over $10 million in Matching Funds based on the false certifications that the campaign complied with the law, when in fact ERIC ADAMS, the defendant, knowingly and repeatedly relied on illegal contributions," the indictment said.
In addition, Williams alleged that a Turkish government official tried to open a new high-rise building in 2021 in Manhattan that would house Turkey's consulate and pushed Adams to speed up the construction permits. Despite warnings from New York City fire safety professionals, Adams pressured the fire department to open the building, according to the indictment.
"The FDNY professionals were convinced that they would lose their jobs if they didn't back down. And so they did. They got out of the way and let the building open. The Turkish official got what he wanted," Williams said.
"Just four days after Adams held up his end of the bargain, he went right back to soliciting more travel benefits from the Turkish airline," Williams added.
Adams' lawyer, Alex Spiro, stood next to his client at a news conference later in the day and blasted federal prosecutors. He called the indictment against Adams "a fake case" that criminalizes ordinary airline upgrades.
"We are talking about a total of $26,000," Spiro said.
The attorney, who has also represented Elon Musk and Alec Baldwin, said there are emails in which the mayor said, "clearly no foreign money."
The alleged conduct predates Adams' time as mayor, when he served as Brooklyn borough president, up through his campaign for mayor and during his time in office.
"In 2014, ERIC ADAMS, the defendant, became Brooklyn Borough President," the indictment begins. "Thereafter, for nearly a decade, ADAMS sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him."
"By 2018, ADAMS-who had by then made known his plans to run for Mayor of New York City-not only accepted, but sought illegal campaign contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign, as well as other things of value, from foreign nationals," it continued. "As ADAMS's prominence and power grew, his foreign-national benefactors sought to cash in on their corrupt relationships with him, particularly when, in 2021, it became clear that ADAMS would become New York City's mayor."
It continued, "ADAMS agreed, providing favorable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received. After his inauguration as Mayor of New York City, ADAMS soon began preparing for his next election, including by planning to solicit more illegal contributions and granting requests from those who supported his 2021 mayoral campaign with such donations."
Williams said the investigation is ongoing and there may be others charged.
Federal agents showed up at Gracie Mansion, the city's mayoral residence, and seized the mayor's phone Thursday morning, Spiro told ABC News.
"He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court," Spiro said. "They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in."
Later in the afternoon, the mayor sent an e-mail to all city employees -- obtained by ABC News -- addressing the indictment and reiterating he has not done anything wrong.
"I am committed to continuing to fight on behalf of New Yorkers as your mayor," he said. "And it is critical, now more than ever, that you all remain focused on delivering for New Yorkers as well."
In a statement released on Thursday night, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said it was "an extraordinarily difficult day for New York City."
“I have carefully reviewed the indictment released by the United States Department of Justice. This indictment is the latest in a disturbing pattern of events that has, understandably, contributed to a sense of unease among many New Yorkers," she said in her statement.
“Our judicial system is based on the foundational principle that all of us are presumed innocent until proven otherwise. Yet those of us who have chosen a career in elected office know that we're held to a higher standard. Given the responsibilities we hold as public servants, that's entirely appropriate," she continued.
Hochul said her focus is "protecting the people of New York and ensuring stability in the City."
"While I review my options and obligations as the Governor of New York, I expect the Mayor to take the next few days to review the situation and find an appropriate path forward to ensure the people of New York City are being well-served by their leaders. We must give New Yorkers confidence that there is steady, responsible leadership at every level of government," her statement concluded.
