There were several investigations into the Eric Adams administration during his term as Mayor of New York City, which began in 2022 and ended in 2025.
Chief among these investigations was the federal prosecution of Eric Adams overseen by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York that resulted in the criminal indictment of Adams in September 2024. This indictment charged Adams with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States; one count of wire fraud; two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals; and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe. On October 8, Adams's former Chief Liaison to the Muslim Community Mohamed Bahi, who had resigned the day prior, was arrested and charged with witness tampering and destruction of evidence in connection with Adams's indictment and the investigation of illegal contributions made to Adams's mayoral campaign.
Law enforcement interest in a wide swath of Adams's City Hall led to a number of unscheduled departures from the administration before Adams's indictment. The New York City Department of Investigation and New York County District Attorney arrested Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich in 2023 for an alleged bribery scheme, forcing him to leave the administration. He awaits trial in New York Supreme Court. A set of raids by IRS Criminal Investigation in 2024 led to the resignation of Police Commissioner Edward Caban. Similar warrant seizures of phones by the Federal Bureau of Investigation preceded the resignation of Schools Chancellor David C. Banks and his brother, Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III.
As the charges mounted, dozens of New York elected officials called for Adams to resign. Under the New York City Charter, the New York State Governor holds the power to suspend the Mayor for 30 days and ultimately remove him. Governor Kathy Hochul declined to exercise this right or call for Adams's resignation, saying that, "It's now up to Mayor Adams to show the City that he is able to lead", while under indictment. The charter also contains language to remove a mayor via a never-before-used Inability Committee, consisting of the city's corporation counsel, comptroller, council speaker, senior borough president, and one deputy mayor. It would take four votes to start the process of removing the mayor – temporarily or permanently – which he could dispute, and would still need to pass the full council.
Adams called the charges "entirely false, based on lies", and vowed to fight them. He and his defenders maintained that the charges were retaliation for his opposing the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the migrant crisis.
On February 10, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) instructed federal prosecutors to drop charges against Adams. On February 13, 2025, the interim United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Renee Sassoon, resigned after refusing to drop the charges. Kevin Driscoll, the acting head of the DOJ's Criminal Division, and John Keller, the acting head of the DOJ's Public Integrity Section, also resigned in response to the instructions to drop the charges, as did three other prosecutors in the Public Integrity Section. Hagan Scotten, the assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York who had been the lead prosecutor in the case against Adams resigned as well. On February 17, 2025, comptroller Brad Lander released a public letter to Mayor Adams threatening to convene a meeting of the Inability Committee if Adams did not "develop and present a detailed contingency plan outlining how you intend to manage the City of New York".
In April 2025, the judge presiding over the federal indictment, Dale Ho, dismissed the case against Adams with prejudice, without opining on the merits of the case, as Ho cited inability to force the Justice Department to prosecute.
Investigations
FBI investigation into Adams travel and campaign fundraising
Background
Dating to the Brooklyn borough presidency, Eric Adams has faced press scrutiny regarding his foreign travel. Adams has boasted in particular of his travel with Turkey, and of having met with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In August 2015, the consulate-general of Turkey paid for Adams's trip to the country. As mayor, Adams boasts that no other mayor in New York City history had visited the country as often as he had.
In May 2021, employees of the Brooklyn construction firm KSK Construction donated a total of to Adams's mayoral campaign, allowing the campaign to qualify for in public matching funds. According to Politico, of the firm's 11 employees, 10 had not made a prior political donation; co-owner Erden Arkan had last donated to former Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz's campaign in 2009. KSK Construction is heavily financed by the Turkish bank VakıfBank, which is controlled by the Turkish state.
After securing the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary nomination in July, Adams urged then-fire-commissioner Daniel A. Nigro to allow the government of Turkey to occupy the Turkish House; the New York City Fire Department declined to sign off on the building, citing fire safety issues.
Investigation
In spring 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York began a corruption investigation into alleged straw donors from the government of Turkey through construction company KSK Construction to Adams's 2021 campaign.
On November 2, 2023, investigators raided the Brooklyn home of Brianna Suggs, Adams's chief fundraiser. The search warrant, obtained by The New York Times, states agents seized three iPhones, two laptops, contribution card binders, and other documents. The Federal Bureau of Investigation searched a dozen locations that day, including the residence of former Turkish Airlines executive Cenk Öcal and Director of Protocol in the Mayor's Office for International Affairs Rana Abbasova. On November 3, investigators questioned Nigro over the Turkish House. Days after the raid at Suggs's home, the FBI seized at least two of Adams's cellphones and an iPad. Adams's campaign cooperated with the FBI's request.
On April 5, 2024, the Times reported that the FBI was investigating flight upgrades Adams purportedly received on Turkish Airlines flights. In July, investigators served grand jury subpoenas.
In addition to the resignation and seizing of the phone of police commissioner Caban, Adams's counsel and chief legal adviser Lisa Zornberg resigned, as did deputy commissioner of public private partnerships and economic development Kristen Kaufman. Director of Asylum Seeker Operations Molly Schaeffer was also visited by law enforcement, who served a federal subpoena on her.
Reactions Adams canceled several meetings at the White House to discuss the New York City migrant housing crisis following the raid. At a Day of the Dead celebration at Gracie Mansion that night, Adams stated that his campaign was up to the "highest ethical standards". Adams denied the accusations at New York City Hall press conference the following week, disclosing that he had retained the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Following a report from The New York Times that Adams was being investigated over the construction of the Turkish House, Adams further denied wrongdoing and assured that he would continue to cooperate with investigators. Adams and the City Hall's chief counsel requested the FBI cease leaks of its investigation.
Brooklyn Democratic Party chairwoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn questioned whether the inquiry was related to Adams's race. State senator Leroy Comrie called the investigation a witch hunt. Representative Brandon Williams accused the investigation of being a "weaponization of the justice system" against Adams's critical comments towards president Joe Biden. New York City Council minority leader Joe Borelli defended Adams on Twitter. The New York Posts editorial board questioned whether the investigation could be political retribution. Politico compared the rhetoric among Adams's supporters with Donald Trump's supporters.
The Campaign Finance Board rejected, later in the year, Adams's matching funds request for his reelection campaign. The campaign requested $4 million. Board chair Federick Schaffer explained that "the Board has determined there is reason to believe the Adams campaign has engaged in conduct detrimental to the matching funds program, in violation of law, including the Campaign Finance Act and Board Rules." The campaign can appeal the decision, or opt out of receiving matching funds altogether to raise the individual donor cap from $2,100 to $3,700.
Ulrich, Department of Buildings investigation
On November 1, 2022, investigators working for the Manhattan District Attorney seized the phone of New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich pursuant to a search warrant. Ulrich resigned from the administration shortly thereafter.
On August 3, 2023, the New York Daily News reported that Ulrich had been indicted for corruption charges. On September 13, 2023, Ulrich was arrested on 16 felony corruption charges; he pleaded not guilty. Also charged were the brothers Anthony and Joseph Livreri, owners of a pizzeria, as well as Michael Mazzio, a tow-truck business owner. The indictment accuses the business owners of buying favors from Ulrich both before and after his appointment to the Adams administration. Ulrich allegedly used bribe money to make wagers in legal and illegal gaming establishments.
Anthony and Joseph Liveri plead guilty to charges in 2026, admitting to handing Ulrich $4,000 in an envelope to get rid of a city Building Department vacate order on a Brooklyn bakery.
Ulrich awaits trial. According to reporter Greg B. Smith, he has requested a bench trial.
NYPD, Caban brothers scandal
In early September 2024, federal agents, at the direction of the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, seized the phone of New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban. The probe focuses on nightclub protection services owned by Caban's twin brother, James Caban, who was fired from the NYPD in 2001 and also had his phone seized. Edward Caban resigned on September 12, at the request of the Adams administration.
According to Caban's lawyers, he was told he was not a subject of investigation.
Banks brothers bribery and corruption investigation The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is investigating a possible bribery scheme focusing on the consulting firm Pearl Alliance. The firm was founded by Terence Banks, the brother of Philip Banks III, deputy mayor of New York City for public safety, and David C. Banks, the New York City schools chancellor. Philip and David each oversaw public agencies that tendered contracts with clients of the Pearl Alliance. All three brothers had their phones seized.
In September 2024, search warrants were served to employees of SaferWatch – also a client company of The Pearl Alliance – in relation to the possible corruption investigation. The New York City Police Department paid SaferWatch more than $67,000 since August 2023 for "school safety" services.
Under a cloud, Chancellor David C. Banks and Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III each resigned in the month of October 2024. David C. Banks tried to have his resignation at a later date, but said that Adams had "accelerated" the timeline of his resignation.
Winnie Greco investigation