FBI searches home of New York Mayor’s chief campaign fund-raiser
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Ms Brianna Suggs' home, which was raided by FBI agents, in Brooklyn. She is the chief election campaign fund-raiser for New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK – Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents searched the home of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ chief election campaign fund-raiser, Ms Brianna Suggs, on Thursday, and she was questioned by public corruption investigators, reported city officials and local media.
The New York Times, citing a search warrant, reported that the early-morning raid was part of a federal investigation into whether Mr Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign conspired with a Brooklyn construction company and the Turkish government to funnel foreign money into the campaign through a straw donor scheme.
Reuters has not seen the search warrant, and the FBI did not respond to requests for comment.
A spokesman for the Turkish Embassy in Washington said he had just learnt of the allegations, and would make inquiries before he could comment.
Mr Adams, a Democrat, had travelled to Washington on Thursday for meetings with US government officials about the city’s shelter crisis for asylum seekers and other recently arrived migrants, but abruptly cancelled those meetings to return to New York.
“The mayor heard of an issue related to the campaign, and takes these issues seriously, so he wanted to get back to New York as quickly as possible,” Mr Fabien Levy, a spokesman for the mayor, wrote in an e-mail.
Ms Suggs has worked for Mr Adams since 2017, starting as an intern in his office when he was the Brooklyn borough president, according to her profile on the LinkedIn social media network.
She managed the raising of US$18.4 million (S$25 million) for Mr Adams’ successful mayor election campaign in 2021, and has overseen the amassing of more than US$2.7 million in contributions for his 2025 re-election campaign, according to campaign finance disclosures.
Ms Suggs could not be reached for comment. Spokespeople for the FBI did not respond to requests for comment.
Asked about the search, a spokesperson for Mr Adams’ election campaign shared a statement from campaign counsel Vito Pitta: “Mayor Adams has not been contacted as part of this inquiry. He has always held the campaign to the highest standards.”
An FBI spokesperson confirmed to the Times that the bureau was carrying out “law enforcement action” at Ms Suggs’ home in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighbourhood, the paper reported.
The Times, citing an unnamed person with knowledge of the raid, said Ms Suggs was questioned by agents from one of the FBI’s public corruption squads.
Law enforcement officials have investigated several other associates of Mr Adams in recent months.
In July, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the indictment of six people he said had used a straw donor scheme to illegally generate public matching funds for Mr Adams’ 2021 election campaign. All six men have pleaded not guilty.
Mr Adams, who was not accused of any wrongdoing in the indictments, has said he and his campaign team had no knowledge of or involvement in the alleged scheme.
Mr Adams’ 2025 election campaign has paid Ms Suggs’ consulting firm, Suggs Solutions, about US$98,000 so far, public records show.
While raising funds for Mr Adams’ election campaign, Ms Suggs had also been paid to lobby his administration on behalf of a Manhattan property owner seeking an extension on his lease in a city-owned building, the New York Daily News reported in April. REUTERS
