Adams’ chief fundraiser raided by FBI over alleged kickback scheme involving Turkish government
The home of a top fundraiser for New York City Mayor Eric Adams was raided by the feds early Thursday morning as part of an investigation over an alleged kickback scheme involving the Turkish government and a Brooklyn construction company.
Federal agents burst into the Brooklyn home of Brianna Suggs, a campaign consultant and lobbyist — just as Adams abruptly bailed on a slate of White House immigration meetings to fly back to the Big Apple almost as soon as he had landed in Washington DC, The Post confirmed.
The raid was connected to a broader public corruption probe by the feds looking into whether money was illegally funneled to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign via a Williamsburg-based construction company – and was purposely conducted while the mayor was out of town, law enforcement sources said.
Investigators specifically sought evidence of whether Adams’ campaign conspired with the Turkish government and the construction company to move foreign cash into his campaign accounts by using straw donors, the sources said.
A straw donor is a person or company who illegally makes a donation with someone else’s money – but using their own name.
The feds’ warrant – which was obtained by The New York Times – said agents were looking for evidence of the theft of federal funds, wire fraud, conspiracy to steal federal funds and wire fraud conspiracy.
Investigators were looking for proof that the campaign kicked back benefits to principals and employees of KSK Construction Group – as well as Turkish officials.
Neither Suggs – whose firm has earned more than $150,000 from the mayor’s campaign team since 2021 – nor Adams have been arrested or charged with a crime.
Adams said he hasn’t been contacted by any law enforcement agency but flew back to the city to “be on the ground” and “find out exactly what was taking place.”
“I hold my campaign to the highest ethical standards,” Hizzoner said at an unrelated Día de Muertos event at Gracie Mansion Thursday night.
“Any inquiry that is done, we’re going to fully participate and make sure that it’s done correctly.”
He called Suggs “a real professional” and said she would also comply with any inquiry made, but claimed he had not spoken to her “at all” on Thursday.
Suggs, 25, is also extraordinarily close with Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the so-called Lioness of City Hall who acts as Adams’ chief advisor and gatekeeper.
Suggs’ company – Suggs Solutions LLC – is registered to a family-owned brownstone at 929 Lincoln Place in Crown Heights, according to property records.
“I heard screaming maybe two or three hours ago,” one neighbor told The Post, describing the moment of the raid. “I heard helicopters (also) … the house is boarded up.”
Another eyewitness told The Post that he saw cars on the block with civilian plates – that nonetheless carried FBI agents who were going in and out of the house.
“I saw some of them carrying cardboard boxes which they loaded into a van,” Devon Stilwell, a 22-year-old who was hanging out up the block with some film students from NYU, told The Post on Thursday afternoon.
“It was obvious something big was going on, and now I hear the house belongs to someone connected to the mayor … Does any of that surprise you?”
The search warrant said authorities were looking for Suggs’ financial records – and those of any entity associated with or controlled by her, the Times said.
Investigators also wanted documents about contributions to Adams’ 2021 campaign, records of travel to Turkey by any of the campaign’s employees or associates and documents that could shed light on the campaign’s interactions with the Turkish government, the paper said.
The warrant also sought any electronic device she used, including cell phones, tablets and laptops.
City records show Suggs – who worked as an aide to Adams back when he was Brooklyn’s borough president – is on a monthly retainer for Hizzoner’s political work, and has also received more than $16,500 in personal payments from Adams’ accounts, according to campaign finance filings.
Suggs was also paid more than $100,000 since January 2022 by Al Cockfield’s PAC, “Striving for a Better New York,” according to state campaign finance records.
Cockfield’s daughter, Amaris Cockfield, also works as a spokesperson for the City Hall press office, where she earns $110,000 per year.
Suggs, who graduated from Brooklyn College with a Bachelors of Science in biology in 2020, reported making $1,500 between July and December of 2022 for lobbying City Hall to extend a business owner’s lease on a strip mall in Chinatown – all while the mayor’s campaign was retaining her for consulting and fundraising services.
The set-up irritated government watchdogs, who said it raised conflict-of-interest concerns and could lead to pay-to-play politics.
At the time, a spokesperson for Suggs, Jordan Barowitz, defended her dual roles, which some campaign finance experts said did not violate any city laws.
Suggs did not return The Post’s calls for comment Thursday.
It was not clear Thursday who her attorney was.
Representatives for KSK Construction declined to comment Thursday.
Adams canned his much-sought-after meeting with senior White House officials and fellow big-city Democratic mayors once he heard about the operation.
The parties were supposed to discuss the burgeoning migrant crisis that’s swamped the Big Apple – the mayor even posted a short video from the plane on X where he described his mission.
“We are headed to DC to meet with our congressional delegation and the White House to address this real issue – the asylum and migrant issue in our city,” Adams said in the brief clip. “We’ll keep you updated as the day goes on.”
But Hizzoner stood the White House up, and quickly boarded a plane back to New York.
“The mayor heard of an issue related to the campaign, and takes these issues seriously, so wanted to get back to New York as quickly as possible,” Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy told The Post.
“He plans to return to DC and reschedule these meetings as soon as he can.”
Adams later told reporters that he decided it was important for him to leave, trusting the mayors of Denver and Chicago would hit on important issues they all had previously discussed having in common.
A City Hall spokesperson referred inquiries to Adams’ 2021 campaign counsel, Vito Pitta.
“Mayor Adams has not been contacted as part of this inquiry,” Pitta told The Post. “He has always held the campaign to the highest standards … The campaign will, of course, comply with any inquiries as appropriate.”
While no charges have been filed, the raid could significantly wound the mayor in the city’s cutthroat political arena, consultant Hank Sheinkopf told The Post.
“This is someone who is close to him, who he trusts,” Sheinkopf said. “There is no one more important in a campaign than the person who raises the money.”
“His canceling a meeting with the White House is very significant – his political enemies are going to jump on this,” he continued. “You can’t focus on the migrant crisis when your attention is being diverted to investigations.”
“The mayor went to DC to do the peoples’ business,” added veteran political consultant Ken Frydman. “He should’ve kept his White House meeting and let his campaign handle the fallout from the FBI raids.”
Political opponents were already piling onto Adams – including Curtis Sliwa, whom Adams defeated in the city’s 2021 mayoral election.
“I have been saying forever that Eric Adams always wants to be wined, dined, and pocket-lined,” Sliwa said in a statement.
“At the start, Adams thought he would be on his way to the White House,” he continued. “Now, it looks like he will be on this way to the Big House in chains and shackles because of political corruption.”
As of Thursday afternoon, it was still unclear the extent to which the raid had to do with the mayor, or Suggs’ work on his campaigns.
But veteran campaign finance attorney Lawrence Mandelker said the feds’ decision to storm in with a search warrant shows it’s a “potentially serious investigation.”
Investigators could have just issued a subpoena, he said. But the warrant was their way to not risk the destruction of any evidence.
“They think the stuff they’re getting from [Suggs’] is material, very important to the investigation,” Mandelker, who has represented defendants in complex criminal finance cases, told The Post. “You don’t know where this leads.”
Despite the wild rush home, Adams told reporters he is confident in his campaign fundraising.
“I feel extremely comfortable about how I comply with rules and procedures,” he told reporters. “I’ve stated this over and over again. I hold myself to a high standard, I hold my campaign to a high standard and I hold my staffers at City Hall to a high standard.”
He added that his campaign has “probably one of the strictest reviews” when it comes to vetting contributions and donations.
Yet, Suggs isn’t the first of Adams’ inner circle to draw scrutiny from law enforcement – ex-buildings department commissioner Eric Ulrich ran a lengthy scheme in which he doled out political favors in return for more than $150,000 in bribes, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has alleged.
Ulrich, 38, pleaded not guilty in September to a total of 16 felonies spread over five indictments.
Christopher Kelly Burwell, a long-time resident of the block, was hanging around and charging $50 per reporter for his video recordings of the feds’ raid.
The 54-year-old Brooklynite said he watched the FBI parse through the house for about an hour-and-a-half, removing boxes as they went.
Burkwell’s recordings show agents gathered outside the residence, carrying things back and forth to vehicles. At one point, people wearing suits head back to an unmarked SUV parked on the road.
“I came outside and – Merry Christmas! Oh snap, what’s going on?” Burwell told The Post.
“I saw the FBI and it was scary – really scary,” he continued. “They had jackets with the letters ‘FBI.’ Some men in suits, too. I was very shocked. It’s a very quiet block. I wasn’t expecting that this morning.”
Burwell said he’s known the family for a long time – including Suggs’ father, William “Billy” Suggs, who was a member of Adams’ transition committee.
He said they’re good neighbors and good people.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but the young lady, her grandmother and her father and her siblings – they’re very good people, and whatever she’s caught up in, I don’t think it’s for her,” Burwell said.
Additional reporting by Carl Campanile, Joe Marino, Larry Celona, Rthvika Suvarna and Allie Griffin
