Adams faces hefty fines for alleged campaign violations

(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing hefty fines after a city election watchdog audit alleged that his 2021 campaign failed to document $2.3 million in spending.

A draft report by the New York City Campaign Finance Board, a copy of which was leaked to several news outlets, faulted Adams’ campaign for a lack of record keeping and flagged issues ranging from financial discrepancies to prohibited donations.

The 900-page report detailed hundreds of financial discrepancies and dozens of prohibited contributions, including anonymous donations and allegations that unlawful foreign money flowed into the Adams campaign's coffers.

Adams pushed back on the allegations and accused the board of leaking the report before his campaign could respond to the alleged violations. He said his campaign would respond to the claims but didn't say when.

"I'm really disappointed that this report was leaked without us giving an opportunity to answer the questions," Adams told reporters at a Monday briefing. "There was a lot of sensationalism attached to that draft report that was leaked, and I don't think that follows the proper procedures of how you're supposed to handle a draft report.”

Adams’ campaign faces a multi-million dollar fine if the violations aren’t corrected, according to the report. The board administers New York City's public matching funds program and reviews the finances of campaigns that receive public funding from the program.

The Adams campaign raised more than $8.9 million for his 2021 mayoral election, and collected more than $10 million in public funds, the largest amount of any citywide candidate in that election cycle, according to the board.

His campaign issued a statement attributing the errors to misplaced receipts and incomplete documentation and pledged to respond to the allegations of campaign finance violations.

"This is a draft audit seeking information from the campaign to clarify potential issues, not a binding determination," Vito Pitta, a compliance lawyer for the Adams campaign, said in a statement to news outlets. "The 2021 campaign raised more than $18 million through more than 10,000 transactions, an unprecedented volume that requires an unprecedented amount of paperwork, which we will provide as needed."

Federal investigators are investigating whether the Adams campaign conspired to avoid finance rules by funneling donations from the Turkish government.

FBI agents raided Breanna Suggs' home in early November as part of an investigation into whether Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign conspired with a Brooklyn-based construction company to funnel foreign money into the campaign through a straw donor scheme. Suggs served as a chief fundraiser for Adams' 2021 gubernatorial campaign.

To be sure, Adams hasn't been accused of wrongdoing by the FBI but hired a lawyer and set up a fund to solicit donations for his legal defense.

Adams is facing several challengers in next year's Democratic primary, including New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who announced his candidacy last week.