6 People Indicted In Alleged Straw Donor Scheme To Help Elect NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Says Manhattan DA

Six people were charged Friday for allegedly orchestrating a fraudulent straw donation scheme to divert tens of thousands of dollars in public money on NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign in the months leading up to his election. 

What happened: The scheme consisted of illegally structuring donations to exploit the city's matching funds system, which rewards the first $250 donated with an eight-to-one match, said Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg in a statement Friday.

Thus far, Adams nor any city employees have been accused of wrongdoing, said Evan Thies, the 2021 campaign spokesperson for Adams, per Bloomberg. 

Meanwhile, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said the defendants had subverted campaign finance laws in a "blatant attempt to gain power."

The defendants said they planned to use their contributions and matching funds as leverage for future requests from the Mayor's Office, according to the DA's press release.

The 2021 elections were the first to use the matching funds system. 

How Did It Function?

The city limited individual donations in the mayoral campaign to $2,000 and only $400 for those with city business contracts. However, the matching fund system, authorized by voters in 2018, led to the city spending $127.1 million in public matching funds in the 2021 election cycle. 

A City Hall spokesperson said Adams never discussed city business with any of the defendants, all of whom face charges of conspiracy, attempted grand larceny and making false statements.

Cannabis Donors Were All About Adams, The Candidate

During Adams’ mayoral campaign, New York had high hopes of getting its recreational marijuana program up and running after it was legalized by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in March 2121. 

Cannabis investors, such as LeafLink CEO, Ryan Smith and Beehouse’s managing partner Gregory Heyman sought Adams’s good graces via generous campaign donations.

Then Adams Got Fickle

Adams went from embracing cannabis to cracking down on it in record time. At first, he commiserated with the plight of the unlicensed vendors as the state has been, still is, glacially slow in rolling out the legal program. Then the mayor combined the two and told New Yorkers to “light up” and spend money at the illicit weed shops because he did not intend to be “heavy-handed” with them. 

Now it seems Mayor Adams has bigger issues to deal with than who's smoking weed in public and where they bought it.