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Mayor Adams sues NYC Campaign Finance Board for $3.4 million in denied funds

Josephine Stratman and Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News on

Published in Political News

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams has sued the city’s Campaign Finance Board over its repeated denial of matching funds for his reelection campaign.

The lawsuit, first reported by Politico on Tuesday, seeks $3.4 million that the mayor has been denied by the CFB, which has cited Adams’ five-count federal indictment in its decisions.

“An indictment is not a conviction; a politically-driven indictment that has been dismissed and for which there is no corroborating evidence is worth nothing at all,” attorney Robert Spolzino wrote in the suit, filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court. “The CFB’s reliance on the indictment as proof of anything, particularly now that it has been dismissed with prejudice, is, therefore, arbitrary, capricious, violative of lawful procedure, and erroneous as a matter of law.”

The CFB first denied Adams matching funds in December, citing a number of reasons including his indictment and his campaign’s failure to provide paperwork to campaign finance regulators. The lawsuit says Adams’ team has since submitted that information.

This is just the latest turn in the mayor’s efforts to win a second term. After his case was dropped in April, Adams announced he’d seek reelection as an independent to allow for more time to campaign and fundraise.

In April, the CFB denied Adams both for the non-compliance reason as well as for not submitting a personal financial disclosure to the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board in time.

“If allowed to stand, the CFB’s determination sets a dangerous precedent, empowering the CFB to sit as judge, jury, and executioner based on allegations and press reports, not evidence,” the lawsuit reads.

The board’s auditing director Danielle Willemin wrote in an April 15 letter to Adams’ team that its decision was based in part on a judge’s opinion on the Adams case, as well as two expected guilty pleas from those involved in the mayor’s alleged campaign finance fraud involving Turkish government operatives.

A spokesperson for the CFB declined to comment.

 

Frank Carone, Adams’ ex-chief of staff and reelection campaign chair, is involved in helping his old firm, Abrams Fensterman, litigate the suit against the CFB on behalf of the mayor.

“After months of cooperation, it became clear that the CFB is intent on indirectly disenfranchising thousands of everyday New Yorkers who donated to Mayor Adams because his leadership has improved their lives,” Carone said.

In addition to the mayor and his campaign, the suit’s plaintiffs include three Adams campaign donors. One of them is Marietta Rozental, a longtime fundraiser for Adams who runs two Azerbaijani community groups in Brooklyn.

While Adams was Brooklyn borough president, Rozental introduced him to several Azeri government officials who visited him at Borough Hall, Facebook photos and press releases reviewed by the Daily News show.

The Azeri government is closely allied with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government was accused in Adams’ indictment of participating in his straw donor scheme.

Asked why Rozental was added to the suit, Carone said she, like the other two donors, believes she has been “disenfranchised by the board’s arbitrary decision.”

_________


©2025 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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