Far-left New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, a self-described socialist, has been hit with two criminal referrals alleging he accepted illegal foreign campaign donations, a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and New York election law.
The Coolidge Reagan Foundation, a prominent campaign finance watchdog, filed the referrals Tuesday with both the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, demanding a full investigation into a “pattern of foreign money flowing into a New York City mayoral race.”
According to the Fox News, the foundation’s complaint follows revelations that Mamdani’s campaign raked in nearly $13,000 from 170 donors with addresses outside the United States, including one donation reportedly coming from his mother-in-law in Dubai.
“These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors,” said Dan Backer, president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation.
“This was a sustained pattern of foreign money flowing into a New York City mayoral race which is a clear violation of both federal law and New York City campaign finance rules. Mamdani’s campaign was on notice for months that it was accepting illegal foreign contributions, and yet it did nothing meaningful to stop it.”
The New York Post reported:
The Coolidge Reagan Foundation – which has previously lodged complaints against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee – urged Bragg and the DOJ to investigate and prosecute Mamdani over the potentially illegal campaign cash, which flowed in from Australia, Turkey, France, Canada, Germany and other countries.
The group argued Mamdani’s campaign has demonstrated a “systematic failure to comply” with campaign finance laws.
Under the Federal Election Campaign Act it is unlawful to “accept or receive” contributions from foreign nationals in any federal, state, or local election.
Violators who knowingly accept foreign donations could face hefty fines and imprisonment.
[…]
While the Mamdani campaign appears to have returned some of the foreign contributions, records show at least 88 donations totalling $7,190 have not been given back.
A spokesperson for the campaign, Dora Pekec, attempted to downplay the allegations, claiming that some of the contributions may have come from Americans living overseas.
Hellbound and Down 