FBI agents today raided the home of NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ fundraising chief Brianna Suggs while he was on his way to meetings in Washington DC, forcing him to abruptly cancel and return to ‘deal with a matter’.
The New York Times reports that some of the agents present belong to the public corruption unit though it remains unclear what prompted the investigation or what agents were searching for.
Adams was on his way to DC for meetings to discuss the city’s migrant crisis when he learned of the raid.
He had filmed a video of himself on a plane on his way there this morning. Without explanation, he returned to New York City this morning while other city mayors stayed in DC for the talks. Adams is yet to comment on the raid.
Neighbors tell .com the agents arrived at 9am and emerged with boxes.
Agents in FBI vests were among those who removed boxes from the home
Agents are shown outside Suggs’ house in Crown Heights today after the raid
Agents searched the home of Brianna Suggs, a campaign consultant who has helped Adams raise $2.5million for his 2025 election
They described Suggs as coming from a ‘nice family’.
‘I know the whole family they are very good people. They’re a very good family.
‘I saw the FBI on the block and it was scary, it was really scary,’ Christopher Kelly Burwell, 54, said.
With Suggs’ help, he has raised more than $2.5million for his re-election campaign.
The pair have worked together since 2017, when she joined his office of the Brooklyn Borough President to work as an administrative intern.
Suggs was Adams’ fundraiser and director of logistics for his successful 2021 mayoral campaign. She now works as a fundraiser for the Kings County Democratic County Committee.
Known as the ‘party mayor’, Adams prolific night-owling and appearances at hotspots like expensive members clubs has left a bitter taste in some mouths.
In 2021, six people were charged with making illegal donations to Adams’ first campaign.
Adams was due to be in Washington DC today to meet with officials about the city’s migrant crisis. When news of the raid emerged, he returned to NYC abruptly
The men included former police officers who Adam served with in the NYPD. They were charged with using false names to disguise their donations.
Prosecutors claimed they wanted to have influence over the Mayor’s Office and potentially win city contracts.
Adams came out clean – prosecutors said he had no knowledge of the scheme. It’s unclear if today’s raid was in connection to those earlier charges.
Earlier this year, Suggs was blasted for taking donations to Adams’ re-election campaign while simultaneously working against him on behalf of a Manhattan property owner who had business with the city.
Some speculated that the conflict of interest would lead to pay-for-play politics.
‘The reason I think it should be illegal is because when people work for you on a campaign you become close, and if that person then lobbies the same [official] she’s raising money for, she’s going to get preferential treatment … and that means her client gets preferential treatment.
‘That just doesn’t look good. It doesn’t pass the smell test,’ Betsy Gotbaum, a city government veteran, told The New York Daily News in April.
A recent report from The City also claims Adams’ 2021 campaign repeatedly ignored requests to name donors whose gave more than $300,000.
Their donations, split between 500 donors, utilized a city donation matching program that balloons payments.
Suggs’ house in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was raided today by FBI agents