Six Charged With Organizing Illegal Donations to Adams’s 2021 Campaign
Lawyers for Mr. Montgomery and Mr. Riza could not immediately be reached for comment.
New York City’s complex campaign finance law sits at the heart of the events sketched out in the court papers. To diminish the influence of big donors and give less-connected candidates a leg up, New York City octuples the first $250 of a resident’s donation. The defendants are accused of trying to mask large donations by funneling them through straw donors. That enabled the campaign to garner more city funds, and potentially amplified the defendants’ influence with the incoming mayor.
It was unclear how much public money was spent as a result of the scheme.
On Friday, Evan Thies, a spokesman for the 2021 Adams campaign, thanked prosecutors for “their hard work on behalf of taxpayers.”
“The campaign always held itself to the highest standards and we would never tolerate these actions,” Mr. Thies said. “The campaign will of course work with the D.A.’s office, the Campaign Finance Board and any relevant authorities.”
The defendants held two fund-raisers for Mr. Adams, one in August 2020 and the other a year later. The second took place after Mr. Adams had won his primary, effectively ensuring his election as mayor of the heavily Democratic city.
For each fund-raiser, according to prosecutors, the defendants recruited straw donors and then reimbursed them.
Source: The New York Times
