The New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) identified a number of financial irregularities that might get in the way of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ aspirations to run for reelection in 2025. The 900-page draft audit, which Gothamist was able to obtain through a public request information, revealed a number of financial mismanagement issues totaling $2.3 million in his 2021 campaign, which may result in heavy fines without sufficient explanation.
The audit uncovered 22 categories of financial irregularities, such as straw contributors, illegal gifts, and questionable payments to close advisors and a consultancy business that is being looked at by the FBI. For example, the Democratic campaign’s TV ad budget exceeded $2 million, but it lacked key information regarding the placements and times of the spots. Another $35,000 payment to Suggs Solutions Inc., owned by the campaign’s chief fundraiser Brianna Suggs, was missing key documentation and didn’t appear in the campaign’s bank records.
Adams’ campaign attorney, Vito Pitta, characterized the audit’s findings as requests for clarification rather than definitive conclusions. He maintained that the campaign adhered to the law and would address all concerns raised, insisting the campaign “always followed the law to the letter.”
The audit also uncovered questionable expenses, such as over $10,000 for car-related costs, including accident repairs and parking tickets. More than 50 gifts were flagged by the CFB as possible straw donations, which are donations made on someone else’s behalf and are thus forbidden. Four of the six people accused by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in relation to a straw donation scam connected to Adams’ campaign have already entered guilty pleas.
The campaign’s problems were exacerbated by the fact that about 700 reimbursements were sent out without adequate documentation—a serious oversight given that public matching funds campaigns need full accounting for all financial transactions. The program, which matches donations dollar for dollar up to $250, has stringent paperwork requirements that must be followed.
If the Adams campaign fails to submit adequate justifications, the CFB may levy fines totaling roughly $3 million dollar – almost exactly the same as what the campaign is now raising for the 2025 election. And if the CFB chooses to withhold more matching funds—a rare but precedent-setting action that was demonstrated in the 2013 mayoral campaign of former Comptroller John Liu—the situation may get even worse.
