you will soon be president of the United States

The mayor provided preferential treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received, according to the federal indictment.

One of the Turkish businessmen who wooed Mr. Adams with gifts and donations, and who was named as the promoter in the indictment, allegedly celebrated Adams's prospects after his election to the city ​​hall.

He told people, including Mr. Adams himself, that Adams would soon be President of the United States.

An executive at the airline that lavished Mr. Adams with business-class flights also allegedly pressured the mayor's staffer to take a leading role on Mr. Adams's transition team.

Appearing to threaten Mr Adams with the removal of his luxury travel benefits, on December 8, 2021 he sent a message to the staff member saying: Lead Plz 🙂 Otherwise seat number 52 is empty On the way home.

The airline executive was, according to the indictment, added to Mr. Adams' transition committee for infrastructure, climate and sustainability.

Messages exchanged between some of the Turkish officials he worked with reveal how they wanted to use Mr Adams for their own political gain.

Turn this into an advantage

In one exchange, the developer sent a message to a Turkish businessman the day after Mr. Adams was elected mayor, saying: He will most likely nominate me as his representative, sir. I'm going to go talk to our elders in Ankara about how we can make this an advantage for our country's lobby.

The businessman replied: That would be good.

A Turkish businessman agreed to donate $50,000 or more to Mr. Adams's 2021 campaign, believing that Adams could one day become president of the United States and hoping to gain influence with by Mr. Adams. The man ultimately did not donate to the campaign.

Mr. Adams is accused of seeking and accepting illegal donations in the form of straw contributions, that is, through people falsely claiming that they were donating their own money.

It is illegal to accept political donations from foreigners in the United States.

Mr. Adams also allegedly used the straw donations to defraud the City of New York and steal public funds.

To make local voices heard, the city implemented a program that matches small donations from residents with up to eight times the amount in public funds.

Mr. Adams' campaign allegedly had these straw donations matched with public funds, obtaining up to $2,000 in public funds for each illegal contribution.

His campaign is accused of raising more than $10 million in matching funds based on false certifications that the campaign was in compliance with the law while Mr. Adams knowingly and repeatedly relied on illegal contributions .

When the Turkish promoter suggested donating to Mr. Adams' campaign through a U.S. citizen in 2018, the then-mayoral candidates' staffer said he didn't think that Mr. Adams would involve himself in such games.

The Turkish national said he would donate a maximum of $100,000.

Illegal scheme

According to the indictment, Mr. Adams directed Mr. Adams' staff to continue the developer's illegal scheme.

Mr. Adams was accused of ordering his aides to obtain illegal contributions offered by a Turkish businessman who owned a university in Istanbul.

After the businessman offered to help Mr. Adams during a meeting at Brooklyn Borough Hall in November 2018, he wrote to his team that the businessman was willing to help. I don't want his willingness to help to be limited [sic].

In a message between Mr. Adams and a member of his staff about raising money from the Turkish university, the mayor said he was not doing so. [an] in-person fundraising for less than $25,000.

The mayor's foreign benefactors then sought to profit from their corrupt dealings with the mayor as his influence grew, prosecutors allege.

The indictment focuses on the approval of the 36-story Turkish consulate. The building was inaugurated by Mr. Erdogan with great fanfare in September 2021.