Federal Judge Unseals Indictment Against New York Mayor Eric Adams Alleging

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A judge on Thursday unsealed a federal indictment against New York Mayor Eric Adams accusing him of taking bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources. Adams’s residence was searched earlier in the day.

Adams faces five criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, prosecutors said in the indictment. Adams is accused of accepting benefits from foreign businesspeople and a Turkish government official who officials said were trying to influence him.

The mayor, who became the first New York City mayor to be criminally charged while in office, issued a video statement Wednesday denying the prosecutors’ claims. The accusations, he added, are “entirely false” and “based on lies.”

“If I’m charged, I know I’m innocent. I will request an immediate trial so New Yorkers can hear the truth,” he said. He said he will remain in office while fighting the charges and defied calls from other officials to step down from his mayoral position.

The unsealed indictment asserts that Adams “compounded his gains” from the illegal contributions from foreign government and business officials by exploiting the city’s matching funds program, which provides a match for small-dollar donations during campaigns.

His campaign received more than $10,000 in matching public funds as a result of the false certifications, the indictment said.

Adams and individuals acting “at his direction falsely certified compliance with applicable campaign finance regulations despite” the mayor’s acceptance of straw donations in campaigns, it added. He is also accused of using “the concealed nature of these illegal contributions to falsely portray his campaigns as law-abiding,” the indictment states.

The mayor is also accused of soliciting and demanding bribes, including heavily discounted and free travel benefits from the Turkish official, according to prosecutors. The official had allegedly been seeking Adams’s assistance in evading regulations to commission the Turkish consulate in Manhattan.

According to the indictment, Adams at times accepted paying a “nominal fee” in an attempt to “create the appearance of having paid for travel that was in fact heavily discounted,” prosecutors wrote. On other occasions, he told others to “create fake paper trails, falsely suggesting that he had paid” or was planning to pay for travel-related benefits, they added.

Adams, meanwhile, is accused of deleting messages with other individuals who were alleged to be involved in the scheme, the indictment said. In one instance, he told another person described as a co-conspirator by prosecutors that he “always” deleted her messages to him, prosecutors said.

In 2021, the indictment said, the Turkish government official told the mayor that it was “his turn to repay” the official by “pressuring the New York City Fire Department” to allow the opening of the consulate building in Manhattan in time for a visit by Turkey’s president.

“At the time, the building would have failed an FDNY inspection,” prosecutors alleged.

After news spread that Adams was going to be charged, several Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who has a significant social media following, urged him to step down “for the good of the city.”

New York has been in a state of political upheaval for the past month. Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned on Sept. 12, a week after FBI agents seized his phone. Days later, Adams’s chief legal adviser resigned, saying she could “no longer effectively serve” in the position.

On Wednesday, the city’s public schools chancellor David Banks said he will retire at the end of the year, weeks after the Times reported his phones were seized by federal agents.

Over the past weekend, the NYPD interim chief Tom Donlon confirmed that his homes were searched by federal agents, although few details were provided by the law enforcement department.

The Epoch Times contacted the New York City mayor’s office for comment Thursday on the charges.

Reuters contributed to this report.