(The Center Square) – Six people have been indicted in New York, accused of a straw donor fundraising scheme tied to New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign.
The indictment, announced Friday by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, says a former New York Police Department commander headed up a scheme that gamed the city’s matching funds system, which provides a generous 8:1 match for money donated by New York City residents to a political campaign.
Prosecutors say police Deputy Inspector Dwayne Montgomery, now a union official who owns a construction safety consulting firm, led the scheme to illegally structure donations to Adams’ campaign by enlisting friends and family members between 2020 and 2021 to make contributions to the matching funds system.
None of the charges in the 27-count indictment implicate Adams or any current city officials, or explain how much money was diverted to the Democrat’s campaign coffers.
New York City limited individual donations in the 2021 mayor’s race to a maximum of $2,000. But the city also provided matching funds for residents on donations for the first $250 of $8 for every $1 donated by a city resident.
Data from New York’s Independent Budget Office shows the city spent more than $127 million in public matching funds in the 2021 election cycle – about four times as much as the previous five election cycles.
Bragg described the indictments as a “deliberate scheme to game the system in a blatant attempt to gain power” by individuals who had business before the city and wanted to make large donations to Adams’ campaign in exchange for political favors.
“The New York City Campaign Finance Board program is meant to support our democracy and amplify the voices of New York City voters,” he said in a statement. “When the integrity of that program is corrupted, all New Yorkers suffer.”
In a statement, Adams’ campaign denied any wrongdoing in connection to the indictments but vowed to cooperate with the investigation.
“There is no indication that the campaign or the mayor is involved in this case or under investigation,” the statement read. “The campaign always held itself to the highest standards, and we would never tolerate these actions. The campaign will, of course, work with the DA’s office, the Campaign Finance Board, and any relevant authorities.”
The indictment also names five other co-conspirators, including Montgomery’s relative, Shamsuddin Riza, Millicent Redick, and Ronald Peek, all of whom face charges. Prosecutors say they helped organize the donations to Adams’ campaign. Several of the defendants pleaded not guilty after being arraigned on Friday in a city court.
Prosecutors say Yahya and Shahid Mushtaq, co-owners of a firm called EcoSafety Consultants Inc., also helped the straw donor scheme by using their employees’ personal information to list them as donors to Adams’ campaign without their knowledge.
Adams won a crowded Democratic primary in June 2021, and went on to win the general election in November. His campaign raised more than $19.1 million, at least $10.1 million of which was public matching funds, according to city data.
