Federal prosecutors introduced that Erlene King, the marketing campaign treasurer for a failed Brooklyn borough president candidate, has pleaded responsible to wire fraud and making an attempt to defraud New York Metropolis’s Marketing campaign Finance Board of $400,000.
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The marketing campaign treasurer for a failed candidate within the 2021 Brooklyn borough president race pleaded responsible to wire fraud and making an attempt to steal $400,000 from New York Metropolis’s Marketing campaign Finance Board, federal prosecutors introduced.
Erlene King might resist 20 years in jail, in line with the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace for the Jap District of New York.
In the course of the marketing campaign, King admitted to utilizing straw donors and cast paperwork in an try and qualify for public matching funds from the Marketing campaign Fiance Board (CFB). She additionally confessed to securing fraudulent donations by utilizing the names of people who both didn’t contribute personally or had been reimbursed for his or her donations. A number of the fraudulent contributions concerned stolen identities.
Prosecutors stated King used CashApp to ship cash to intermediaries, instructing them to make donations to the marketing campaign of Anthony Jones, a candidate for Brooklyn borough president.
“Erlene King deprived New York City residents of a fair election by attempting to manipulate hundreds of thousands of dollars in donor contributions to unlawfully favor her candidate,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Cost James Dennehy in an announcement. “King abused her position as a campaign treasurer and attempted to profit from exploiting a system designed to represent the voices of the city.”
Erlene King was a marketing campaign treasurer for Anthony Jones (pictured) throughout his bid for Brooklyn Borough President.Contributed picture
What’s the Matching Funds Program?
The CFB’s matching funds program permits candidates who qualify to obtain public funds primarily based on the quantity and variety of eligible donor contributions. Within the 2021 borough president race, candidates wanted to boost $50,000 in eligible donations to qualify.
Below this system, candidates might obtain as much as $8 in matching funds for each $1 of eligible contributions, with a most of $175 per donor. For instance, a $175 donation can be matched with $1,400 in public funds. This system is meant to spice up participation in native elections by encouraging candidates to hunt small-dollar contributions from on a regular basis New Yorkers.
“By encouraging candidates to raise small-dollar contributions from average New Yorkers, the program increases engagement between voters and those who seek to represent them,” the CFB stated in an announcement.
King’s scheme unraveled when the CFB flagged the suspicious donations earlier than disbursing the $400,000.
She was initially charged on Oct. 2, 2024, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2025, in line with John Marzulli, a spokesperson for the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace. Marzulli famous that sentencing tips recommend a possible vary of 33 to 41 months in jail.
