Earlier today, Erlene King admitted guilt in a federal court in Brooklyn for wire fraud related to an attempt to defraud New York City’s Campaign Finance Board (CFB). The plea was entered before United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon. King could face up to 20 years of imprisonment when sentenced.
Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge at the FBI's New York Field Office, made the announcement regarding King's guilty plea.
“Instead of playing by the rules New York City established for free and fair elections, the defendant attempted to use the city’s matching funds program to give the campaign an unfair advantage,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “My Office and our law enforcement partners are focused on rooting out corruption in our electoral system to ensure that all candidates are operating on a level playing field.” He also acknowledged CFB's cooperation during the investigation.
Dennehy commented on King's actions: “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.” He added that King abused her role as campaign treasurer and sought personal gain from a system meant to amplify public voices. “The FBI remains steadfast in its mission to eliminate any source of corruption polluting our city’s democratic processes.”
The CFB is responsible for managing a publicly funded campaign finance system linked with municipal elections in New York City. This includes a "matching funds program" which provides public funds based on eligible donor contributions. The program aims at increasing voter engagement by encouraging candidates to raise small-dollar contributions from local residents.
Candidates for Brooklyn Borough President during the 2021 election cycle could participate in this program if they met specific criteria, including meeting fundraising thresholds involving minimum donations and amounts raised from city residents. Eligible candidates received up to $8 per $1 contributed, capped at $175 per contributor.
King acted as campaign treasurer for Candidate #1 during this election cycle. She confessed that she secured fraudulent donations intending to obtain matching funds from CFB for Candidate #1's campaign through various deceptive means such as straw donors and identity thefts. Ultimately, no public matching funds were paid due to fictitious records submitted by the campaign.
The prosecution is managed by Assistant United States Attorneys Philip Pilmar and Eric Silverberg from the Public Integrity Section with support from Paralegal Specialist Rachel Friedman.