A top campaign fundraiser and close aide of New York City Mayor Eric Adams will be among those named in the bombshell indictment expected to be unsealed today, sources have claimed.
Adams has been indicted by a grand jury on criminal charges following a long-running federal corruption investigation. The mayor on Wednesday declared he was innocent.
The indictment detailing the charges against Adams is expected to be unsealed Thursday, with sources alleging that least three other people will be charged.
Brianna Suggs, who was a key consultant and fundraiser during Adams’ mayoral campaign, and his current director of Asian affairs Winnie Greco are expected to be named in the indictment, The New York Post reported.
FBI agents raided Suggs’ home in November last year and four months later carried out a search at Greco’s residence. It is unclear if the pair will be charged in the indictment or just named.
The indictment comes after weeks of searches, subpoenas and resignations of top officials that have thrust the city’s government into crisis.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, pictured Wednesday, has been indicted by a grand jury on criminal charges following a long-running federal corruption investigation. Adams on Wednesday declared he was innocent
Adams’ close aide Winnie Greco (left), who is his current director of Asian affairs, and top campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs (right) are expected to be named in the indictment – which should be unsealed this morning. It is unclear if the pair will be charged in the indictment or just named
Adams, a Democrat, said Wednesday he expected to be charged with federal crimes and declared he was innocent.
In a speech recorded at his official residence, the mayor said he would remain in office, describing any charges he may face as ‘entirely false, based on lies.’
‘I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, that I would be a target – and a target I became,’ Adams said. ‘I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit.’
It was not immediately clear what laws Adams is accused of breaking or when he might have to appear in court.
The indictment detailing the charges against Adams is expected to be unsealed Thursday morning, according to insiders. The US attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment.
The federal investigations into Adams’ administration first emerged publicly on November 2, 2023, when FBI agents conducted an early morning raid on the Brooklyn home of Suggs.
Suggs, who reportedly has close ties to Adams’ inner circle, was the key campaign consultant and fundraiser during his mayoral campaign.
She served as an intern at Brooklyn Borough Hall in 2017 when Adams was borough president, the Post reported. She was promoted to ‘special liaison’ in 2018 and worked on women’s health for the next three years.
This photo by the New York Mayoral Photography Office shows New York Mayor Eric Adams (left) as he delivers remarks and marches in the 21st Autumn Moon Festival and 12th China Day Festival, with Winnie Greco (right) on October 1, 2023
Suggs then worked on Adams’ mayoral campaign in 2021, raising $18.4million. Campaign records reveal that his campaign spent a total of $18.5million.
She made more than $150,000 from the 2021 campaign and the mayor’s 2025 re-election campaign, records reviewed by the newspaper show.
She was also issued a subpoena to testify in front of a federal grand jury following the FBI raid at her home in November 2023.
At the time, Adams insisted he followed the law and said he would be ‘shocked’ if anyone on his campaign had acted illegally. Days later, FBI agents seized the mayor’s phones and iPad as he was leaving an event in Manhattan.
In addition to the sprawling inquiries launched by Manhattan prosecutors, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are investigating Greco, one of Adams’ close aides who raised thousands of dollars in campaign donations from the city’s Chinese American communities and later became his director of Asian affairs.
Her home was raided by the FBI in February this year. Greco hasn’t commented publicly on the FBI searches of her properties and continues to work for the city.
Greco was already being probed by the city Department of Investigation over allegations that in 2022 she promised a campaign volunteer a job in Adams’ administration if they renovated her kitchen.
She has also been accused of reaching out to prominent Chinese business executives to male $10,000 donations to attend a Chinese-focused event at the mayor’s mansion.
Greco has been affiliated with Adams since his time as Brooklyn borough president. At the time she worked as the Chinese community liaison and a volunteer fundraiser.
Eric Adams, pictured in November 2023, was elected as mayor in November 2021 – a victory he has repeatedly said was ordained by God. But after more than two years in office, his popularity has declined
Eric Adams was among those invited to the White House in July 2021 to meet with President Joe Biden and discuss a plan to reduce gun crime and enhance public safety
The retired police captain had previously campaigned on being tough-on-crime, doing so successfully to become the city’s 110th mayor. When the charges are made public, he will be the first to be charged criminally while still in office
Federal investigators, on September 4 this year, seized electronic devices from the city’s police commissioner, schools chancellor, deputy mayor of public safety, first deputy mayor and other trusted confidantes of Adams both in and out of City Hall.
Federal prosecutors declined to discuss the investigations, but people familiar with elements of the cases described multiple, separate inquiries involving senior Adams aides, relatives of those aides, campaign fundraising and possible influence peddling of the police and fire departments.
A week after the searches, the city’s police commissioner, Edward Caban, announced his resignation. About two weeks later, Schools Chancellor David Banks announced he would retire at the end of the year.
Adams himself insisted he would keep doing the city’s business and allow the investigations to run their course.
Over the summer, federal prosecutors subpoenaed Adams, his campaign arm and City Hall, requesting information about the mayor’s schedule, his overseas travel and potential connections to the Turkish government.
When agents seized electronic devices from Caban, the former police commissioner, in early September, they also visited his twin brother, James Caban, a former police officer who runs a nightlife consulting business.
Agents also took devices from the schools chancellor; his brother Philip Banks, formerly a top NYPD chief who is now deputy mayor for public safety; their brother Terence Banks, who ran a consulting firm that promised to connect businesses to government stakeholders; and from First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who is David Banks’ domestic partner.
All denied any wrongdoing.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned on September 13, as the nature of feds’ renewed investigation remains unknown. Caban was personally picked to head the New York Police Department in 2023
Earlier this month, agents stormed the homes of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright (left) and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, (right) in a series of raids that for now remain under wraps
While those investigations churned, federal authorities also searched the homes of newly named interim police commissioner, Thomas Donlan, and seized materials unrelated to his police work. Donlon confirmed the search and said it involved materials that had been in his possession for 20 years.
In his speech Wednesday night, Adams appeared to cite that search as proof of overreach by federal investigators.
He is expected to surrender to authorities next week, sources told the Post.
Adams, in a statement to the newspaper, claimed that he has become a ‘target’ after having ‘stood my ground for New Yorkers’.
‘I will request an immediate trial so that New Yorkers can hear the truth. New Yorkers know my story. They know where I come from. I have been fighting injustice my entire life,’ he told the Post.
‘That fight has continued as your mayor. … when the federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party and politics.’
DailyMail.com has approached Adams for comment.
Adams spent 22 years in New York City’s police department before going into politics, first as a state senator and then as Brooklyn borough president.
He was elected as mayor in November 2021 – a victory he has repeatedly said was ordained by God. But after more than two years in office, his popularity has declined.
While New York City has seen an increase in jobs and a drop in certain categories of crime, the administration has struggled with an influx of tens of thousands of international migrants who overwhelmed the city’s homeless shelters.
Hours before the charges were announced Wednesday, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (pictured in March) called on Adams to resign, the first nationally prominent Democrat to do so. Adams reacted with scorn, dismissing Ocasio-Cortez as self-righteous
The indictment – first reported by The New York Times – marks a stunning turn for Adams, a former police captain who won election nearly three years ago to become the city’s second Black mayor on a campaign that stressed his working class roots and commitment to public safety.
But as Adams has made reducing crime a cornerstone of his administration, he has faced growing legal peril, with multiple federal investigations honing in on his top aides and his own campaign.
In the last two weeks alone, the leaders he appointed to oversee the country’s largest police force and largest schools system have announced their resignations.
Adams is the first mayor in New York City history to be indicted while in office. If he were to resign, he would be replaced by the city´s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, who would then schedule a special election.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to remove Adams from office. Hochul spokesperson, Avi Small, issued a statement late Wednesday that said ‘Governor Hochul is aware of these concerning news reports and is monitoring the situation. It would be premature to comment further until the matter is confirmed by law enforcement.’
The indictment comes against the backdrop of the United Nations General Assembly, which has brought dozens of world leaders to New York, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
If Adams refuses to step down, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, pictured, could use extraordinary powers to have him removed him from office before his term is up
Hours before the charges were announced Wednesday, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on Adams to resign, the first nationally prominent Democrat to do so. Adams reacted with scorn, dismissing Ocasio-Cortez as self-righteous.
Adams, who is expecting a tough primary election next year, faced additional calls to resign once the indictment became public Wednesday night, including from many of his declared or expected Democratic challengers in the mayoral race.
Brad Lander, the city’s comptroller, said the indictment marked ‘a sad day for New Yorkers.’ State Sen. Zellnor Myrie added that it was ‘especially painful for so many Black New Yorkers who put our hope and faith in this Mayor.’
Scott Stringer, a former city comptroller who is expected to run against Adams, said the indictment had left New York City ‘with a broken down trainwreck of a municipal government.’
Joe Borelli, the top Republican in the City Council, who is believed to be eyeing a run for mayor, said he would reserve judgment until viewing the charges.