Former aide to Eric Adams pleads guilty to soliciting straw donations
for mayor's campaign
[August 13, 2025]
By JAKE OFFENHARTZ
NEW YORK (AP) — A former aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleaded
guilty Tuesday to soliciting straw donations in a case tied to separate
corruption charges against Adams that the Trump administration
ultimately decided to drop.
Mohamed Bahi, who served as City Hall’s chief liaison to the Muslim
community, admitted in federal court that he helped solicit the illegal
donations for Adams' mayoral campaign from employees of a Brooklyn
construction company at a December 2020 fundraiser.
“I understood that the Adams campaign would then seek matching funds for
those donations,” Bahi told a judge, adding that he knew the employees
would be reimbursed and “that it was wrong.”
Bahi, 41, was originally charged in October with witness tampering and
destroying evidence as part of a sweeping federal investigation into
Adams, culminating in the indictment of the mayor on charges of
accepting bribes and campaign contributions from foreign interests in a
separate fundraising scheme.
At the time, prosecutors said it was “likely” that others would be
charged as part of “several related investigations.”
Then, in February, the Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors to
drop the charges against Adams, arguing the case was interfering with
the mayor’s ability to assist in President Donald Trump’s crackdown on
illegal immigration.
The remarkable intervention prompted protests and resignations from
several top prosecutors, including the interim U.S. attorney in
Manhattan, who accused Adams of striking a quid pro quo with Trump.
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Mohamed Bahi, New York City Mayor's liaison to the Muslim community
exits Manhattan Federal Court, Oct. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP
Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
Adams has adamantly denied any wrongdoing and pledged to continue
his re-election campaign on an independent ballot line.
But even as the mayor no longer faces legal consequences, it has
remained an open question how prosecutors will handle the web of
investigations into his inner circle and campaign apparatus.
They have not provided any information about the status of other
cases, including investigations that resulted in federal agents
seizing phones last fall from the city's police commissioner,
multiple deputy mayors and other close advisers to Adams.
The owner of a separate construction company, Erden Arkan, pleaded
guilty in January to funneling illegal campaign contributions to
Adams. He is scheduled for sentencing later this week.
Bahi will be sentenced on Nov. 17 on a charge of conspiracy to
commit wire fraud. He faces a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Bahi and his lawyer declined to comment as he left the courtroom
Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney in Manhattan did not respond to
an emailed inquiry.
A spokesperson for Adams also did not return messages seeking
comment.
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