() – New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with at least one federal crime, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell .
The New York Times was the first to report the accusation.
The indictment follows a months-long federal investigation into campaign fundraising and foreign influence violations. The charges he faces were not immediately made public.
Adams has previously denied any wrongdoing and frequently repeated that he told members of his campaign and administration to follow the law.
“I always knew that if I stood up for New Yorkers I would be a target, and that is what I became. If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with all my strength and spirit,” Adams said in response to the news on Wednesday night.
The mayor is expected to have several days to turn himself in, according to sources familiar with the case.
Adams was at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, when the accusation was made public. According to a source familiar with the situation, Adams was unfazed and remains steadfast.
has reached out to attorneys for the mayor and City Hall for comment. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
The indictment is a dramatic fall from grace for the mayor of America’s largest city and a stunning indictment of one of the country’s most high-profile offices.
Adams, a former NYPD captain, took office in January 2022 and presented himself as the new face of the Democratic Party, promising a tough approach to crime and a commitment to revitalizing the city in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he struggled to address organized crime and major city issues such as the immigrant crisis and concerns about subway safety. He faced criticism for his late-night parties and conflicts over city spending, especially on education.
Now, nearly three years into his first term, Adams faces at least one federal charge that jeopardizes his ability to remain in office and threatens the future of his political career.
Asked Tuesday if he was considering resigning, Adams said: “I’m resigning, not quitting.”
The mayor’s legal troubles deepened in September when top members of his staff at City Hall, including two deputy mayors, a senior aide and the schools chancellor, were served with search warrants and their phones were seized by federal investigators.
Edward Caban, the former commissioner of the New York Police Department, also had his phone seized in a separate federal investigation and was forced to resign. Days later, Lisa Zornberg, the City Council’s top lawyer and one of Adams’s staunchest defenders, abruptly resigned. In a brief, two-sentence resignation letter, Zornberg stated that she had concluded she could “no longer effectively perform” her role. A week later, Schools Chancellor David Banks announced that he would retire at the end of the year, leaving his post at the head of the nation’s largest public school system just days after his home was raided by federal investigators who seized his cellphones during the execution of a federal search warrant.
The first sign of trouble for Adams came nearly a year ago, when federal investigators zeroed in on his campaign fundraising chief, Brianna Suggs, and executed a search warrant at her home, several law enforcement officials previously told . Suggs was not charged with any crime.
FBI Public Corruption Squad investigators seized phones, computers, tablets and files from Suggs, according to sources. Agents also executed numerous search warrants at other homes and businesses throughout the New York area in connection with the investigation, authorities said.
One of the companies registered in November 2023 was KSK Construction Group in Brooklyn, law enforcement said. The construction and development company has built apartments and condos across the city.
A review of campaign finance records identified at least 11 KSK Construction Group employees who donated a total of $13,950 — with individual contributions ranging from $1,200 to $1,500 — all on the same day to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign. has reached out to the donors for comment.
also reached out to Erden Arkan, who is listed as the owner of KSK Construction Group, and also as a donor to Adams’ campaign. New York campaign finance records show Arkan donated $1,500.
As part of their investigation, FBI agents seized Adams’ cellphones days after the raid on Suggs’ home.
After Adams gave a speech in Manhattan, FBI agents “approached him,” asked his NYPD security team to step aside and got into Adams’ SUV, sources said. That’s when agents presented him with a warrant to seize his electronic devices, the sources said.
The seizure marked a dramatic escalation of the federal investigation into whether foreign money was funneled into his campaign, bringing the probe directly to the Democratic mayor.
Adams has maintained his innocence throughout and insisted that he and his team followed the law, despite the mounting investigation.
The mayor praised his ties to the city’s Turkish-American community, saying he has visited the country at least six or seven times.
Adams traveled to Turkey at least twice as Brooklyn borough president. The Turkish consulate paid for a trip in August 2015 during which he signed a sister city agreement with Istanbul’s Üsküdar district.
Adams is not required to resign in light of the allegations, though the political pressure may become unsustainable. If he were to step down, the most prominent mayoral job in the United States would go to the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, until a special election is held.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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