Mayor Adams adviser charged with witness tampering, destroying evidence in straw donor probe (original) (raw)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration was thrown into further turmoil Tuesday when a recently departed aide was arrested and accused of interfering with an ongoing probe into the mayor’s fundraising practices.

Mohamed Bahi, who was the mayor’s senior liaison to the Muslim community before he resigned this week, is accused of instructing multiple witnesses to lie to federal investigators about a December 2020 fundraiser for Adams’ mayoral campaign. Prosecutors say the witnesses, some of whom are now cooperating with the investigation, made illegal straw donations to Adams’ campaign at the event.

The FBI also claims Bahi abruptly deleted Signal, an encrypted messaging app he used to communicate with the mayor, from his phone around when the FBI searched his home and seized his device in July 2024.

Bahi is charged in a criminal complaint with witness tampering and destruction of records. He was released from custody after a court appearance Tuesday afternoon. He did not enter a plea.

The charges are connected to an investigation into alleged “straw donor” practices, in which someone donates money to a political campaign under an intermediary’s name as a way to flout fundraising limits and, in some cases, unlock public matching funds. The FBI, federal prosecutors and the New York City Department of Investigation have been carrying out the investigation.

The complaint does not directly name Adams or his campaign, instead referring to him as “Official-1.” But it leaves little doubt as to Adams’ identity, making clear that Official-1 is the New York City mayor and Bahi worked in his community affairs office.

Prosecutors say Bahi encouraged the owner of a construction company to funnel thousands of dollars to Adams’ mayoral campaign in December 2020 through employees whom the owner later reimbursed. Such straw donor schemes are illegal under campaign finance law and can rise to the level of a federal crime when they’re used in the city’s campaign finance program, which matches small donations with public funds at an 8−to−8-to-8−to−1 rate.

The complaint indicates Adams attended a fundraiser where four of the employees each donated 2,000toAdamsandlistedtheconstructioncompanyastheiremployer.Thecompany′sownerlistedhimselfas“president”andalsocontributed2,000 to Adams and listed the construction company as their employer. The company's owner listed himself as “president” and also contributed 2,000toAdamsandlistedtheconstructioncompanyastheiremployer.Thecompany′sownerlistedhimselfas“president”andalsocontributed2,000, the complaint states.

Gothamist identified the owner of the construction company as Tolib Mansurov, an Uzbek community leader and owner of the firm United Elite Group, by comparing city campaign finance records with the description of the contributions, which Adams’ campaign logged on Dec. 17, 2020. No other December 2020 donors listed in campaign finance records matched the criteria outlined in the complaint.

On Tuesday, magistrate judge Robert Lehrburger ordered Bahi to sign a $250,000 bond, and to surrender any travel documents. Bahi is not allowed to speak with any co-conspirators or witnesses, except in the presence of his attorney, and his movement is restricted to the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York and New Jersey.

Bahi held his hands behind his back as he walked into court shortly after 2:30 p.m. and said only a few words during his roughly 10-minute court appearance. Outside the courtroom, Bahi looked down and ignored questions from reporters, while his attorney, Kevin Puvalowski, declined to comment.

Bahi's arrest comes less than two weeks after the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, whose office also participated in the investigation, indicted Adams on federal fraud and bribery charges. The five-count indictment accuses Adams of accepting lavish travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish nationals who later leaned on him for governmental favors. The mayor has pleaded not guilty.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, Adams praised Bahi and said he had done great work connecting with the Muslim community. He denied ever telling Bahi, or anyone else, to do anything illegal.

"I will never instruct anyone to do anything illegal or improper,” the mayor said. “The only instruction I give people all the time: Follow the law."

FBI Special Agent Jacob Balog, who signed the sworn complaint, said federal investigators searched the construction executive’s home and served him a subpoena in June. They also interviewed the executive and four employees, and each denied involvement in the alleged scheme.

Later that day, Bahi allegedly met with the businessman and advised him that “if he continued to lie to federal investigators [he] would be OK,” according to the complaint. Bahi went on to meet with the four donors and advised them the same, the complaint says, and later told the businessman the mayor expected he “would not cooperate with law enforcement.”

But in a subsequent interview with law enforcement — which they agreed to “in hopes of receiving leniency in connection with this investigation,” the complaint says — the businessman and donors changed their tune, laying out the alleged scheme.

“The charges unsealed today should leave no doubt about the seriousness of any effort to interfere with a federal investigation, particularly when undertaken by a government employee,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement on Tuesday. “Our commitment to uncovering the truth and following the facts wherever they may lead is unwavering.”

In the earlier indictment against Adams, prosecutors refer to Mansurov, the construction company owner, as "Businessman-4" and allege he made the straw donations after an Adams aide suggested the money would help him lift his “business interests and community” in the eyes of the mayor.

As Gothamist first reported, the Adams indictment alleges Mansurov — “Businessman-4” — later texted Adams asking for help lifting a stop-work order at the same time as he was constructing a condo complex in Prospect Lefferts Gardens in February 2023.

Department of Buildings records show a stop-work order was partially rescinded at the construction site a few days later.

Mansurov allegedly texted Adams again a few days later: "Mayor, brother I want to thank you for your help. DOB issue partially resolved and they promised to expedite the process. Thank you, you have my continued support.”

Mansurov did not respond to a phone message or email seeking comment.

Bahi’s destruction of evidence charge, meanwhile, stems from his own interactions with investigators.

FBI agents executed a search warrant at Bahi’s home on July 24. After seizing his phone around 6 a.m., agents discovered Bahi had deleted Signal from the device at some point between midnight and when they arrived.

Bahi claimed he deleted the messaging app — which he had used to communicate with the mayor — because he was traveling to Egypt that night and regularly deleted apps that could be deemed suspicious by authorities when traveling internationally, according to the complaint.

But the FBI says that’s not true. Bahi and Adams had sent Signal messages back and forth during Bahi’s prior trip to Egypt and Yemen in February 2024, the complaint claims.

Prior to working for Adams, Bahi was active with a Muslim charity that sued the NYPD for religious profiling in the years after the 9/11 attacks. It ultimately resulted in a settlement in which the department agreed to curtail its monitoring of Muslim communities.

Bahi officially resigned this week, as part of a wave of departures that have followed Adams’ own indictment on Sept. 26.

Adams told reporters that Bahi was a valued member of his team.

“His attorney can speak for his case,” Adams said. “I know he delivered for New Yorkers and I thank him for that.”

Samantha Max contributed reporting.