FBI Raids Home of Eric Adams’ Fundraising Chief

NEW YORK — Agents from the FBI on Thursday searched the Brooklyn home of Mayor Eric Adams’ chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, a campaign consultant who is deeply entwined with efforts to advance the mayor’s agenda, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The raid apparently prompted Adams to abruptly cancel several meetings scheduled for Thursday morning in Washington, D.C., to talk to White House officials and members of Congress about the influx of migrants in New York and other major cities. Instead, he hurriedly returned to New York “to deal with a matter,” a spokesperson for the mayor said.

Suggs, who could not immediately be reached for comment, is an essential cog in Adams’ fundraising machine, which has already raised more than $2.5 million for his 2025 reelection campaign.

A third person with knowledge of the raid said agents from one of the public corruption squads in the FBI’s New York office questioned Suggs during the search of her home.

An FBI spokesperson confirmed that “we are at that location carrying out law enforcement action,” referring to Suggs’ home in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.

Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan, declined to comment.

Charles Kretchmer Lutvak, a spokesperson for Adams, denied any knowledge of the raid.

“I’m not aware of that,” Lutvak said.

He added that Suggs was not an employee of City Hall and referred calls to the mayor’s campaign team. Evan Thies, a campaign spokesperson for Adams, did not immediately respond to multiple calls and texts seeking comment.

In the past two years, Adams’ reelection campaign has paid Suggs nearly $100,000 for fundraising and campaign consulting services via her company, Suggs Solutions, according to city records.

His first mayoral campaign paid her more than $50,000.

Suggs has also registered as a lobbyist. State records indicate that a real estate concern hired Suggs, via an intermediary, to lobby the mayor’s office and the New York City Council on its behalf in 2022.

Suggs worked as an aide to Adams when he was Brooklyn borough president, and Ingrid Lewis-Martin — currently the mayor’s top adviser — was his deputy.

Suggs is also deeply embedded in outside efforts to advance the mayor’s agenda. A key ally’s political action committee, Striving for a Better New York, that promised to support state candidates aligned with Adams on policy matters, has paid Suggs roughly $100,000.

Adams’ decision to cancel high-level meetings with senior White House officials about an issue he has warned will hollow out New York’s budget and destroy the city suggested an unusual level of urgency.

The mayor was scheduled to meet with representatives from Congress along with the mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, and the mayor of Denver, Mike Johnston.

Adams posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday morning of himself sitting aboard an airplane. He said he was heading to Washington to meet with White House officials and members of the congressional delegation about the migrant crisis, which he described as a “real issue.”

Adams promised to keep the public updated throughout the day, but after he canceled the meetings, officials at City Hall would not explain why.

“The mayor is returning to New York City to address a matter,” Lutvak, the mayor’s spokesperson, said in an email when asked why Adams was suddenly returning to the city. “These meetings will be rescheduled as soon as possible.”

Asked whether the matter was a personal issue or related to City Hall, officials refused to elaborate.

“He is returning to deal with a matter,” Lutvak said.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/02/nyregion/eric-adams-brianna-suggs-fbi-raid.html">The New York Times</a>.