US investigating whether Mayor Eric Adams received illegal donations from Turkey
NEW YORK – Federal prosecutors and the FBI are conducting a broad public corruption investigation into whether Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 election campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations, according to a search warrant obtained by The New York Times.
The investigation burst into public view Thursday when federal agents conducted an early-morning raid at the Brooklyn home of the mayor’s chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs. Suggs is a campaign consultant who is deeply entwined with efforts to advance the mayor’s agenda.
Investigators also sought to learn more about the potential involvement of a Brooklyn construction company with ties to Turkey, as well as a small university in Washington, DC, that also has ties to the country and to Adams.
According to the search warrant, investigators were also focused on whether the mayor’s campaign kicked back benefits to the construction company’s officials and employees, and to Turkish officials.
There was no indication that the investigation was targeting the mayor, and he is not accused of wrongdoing. Yet the raid apparently prompted him to abruptly cancel several meetings scheduled for Thursday morning in Washington, DC, where he planned to speak with White House officials and members of Congress about the migrant crisis.
On Thursday night, Adams defended his campaign. He said he had not been contacted by any law enforcement officials but pledged to cooperate in any inquiry. Adams said that he returned from Washington to be “on the ground” to “look at this inquiry” as it unfolded.
The warrant suggested that some of the foreign campaign contributions were made as part of a straw donor scheme, in which donations are made in the names of people who did not actually give money. Investigators sought evidence to support potential charges that included the theft of federal funds and conspiracy to steal federal funds, wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, as well as campaign contributions by foreign nationals and conspiracy to make such contributions.
Suggs, who could not 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.
The construction company was identified in the warrant, as KSK Construction Group in Brooklyn. Individuals who listed their employer as KSK donated nearly $14,000 to Adams’ 2021 campaign, according to campaign finance records. A person who answered the telephone at the company declined to comment.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
