Brooklyn real estate magnate pleads guilty to conspiring to funnel illegal donations to NYC mayor
Share:
A Brooklyn real estate magnate pleaded guilty Friday to working with a Turkish government official to funnel illegal campaign contributions to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Erden Arkan, 76, entered the plea to a conspiracy charge in Manhattan federal court, telling a judge that he knowingly violated the law by reimbursing employees of his construction firm for their donations to the Democrat’s campaign.
“When I wrote the checks, I knew the Eric Adams campaign would use the checks to apply for public matching funds,” he said. Arkan is one of several individuals implicated in a sprawling bribery and illegal campaign finance indictment brought against Adams in September. He is the first to plead guilty during a public proceeding.
At Friday’s hearing, prosecutors told Judge Dale E. Ho that they had a raft of evidence, including recordings and email, proving that Arkan conspired with a Turkish consular official to deliver the illegal straw donations. They allege that Adams personally solicited the donations from Arkan and the Turkish official at a April 2021 dinner. The following month, Arkan held a fundraiser at the headquarters of his construction company, KSK, in which 10 employees donated between $1,200 and $1,500 to the campaign. They were later reimbursed by Arkan, making them illegal straw donations.
