Three people who New York City records say made the maximum donation to Democratic Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign either deny donating or have no recollection of doing so, The New York Daily News reported.
Cosmin Zamboni and Eugene Gorman, two people listed as Adams donors, told the Daily News that they don’t remember donating to the mayor, whereas Mayra Gonzalez, also listed as a donor, flatly denies having given Adams money. Law enforcement and watchdogs who spoke to the Daily News anonymously said that the fact statements and public records contradict one another and involve people with little other political activity raises concerns.
Gorman and Zamboni are not registered to vote in the city and have no records of municipal or state political donations besides their donations to the Adams campaign, according to the Daily News. Gorman donated $5,100, $3,100 was returned by the campaign due to contribution limits, and Zamboni donated $5,000, $2,000 of which was returned.
Zamboni made his donation in November 2018, two years before Adams ran for mayor, the Daily News reported. Gonzalez, who records say made a $2,000 credit card donation to Adams, told the Daily News that “I don’t make political donations.” (RELATED: Chinese Communist Party-Linked Groups Contributed $1 Million To New York Democratic Campaigns: REPORT)
(Getty Images/Arturo Holmes)
Gorman, who works as a doctor in New Jersey, donated to the Adams campaign in April 2018 alongside several of his co-workers at medical providers owned by Alexandr Zaitsev, according to the Daily News. Gorman, Zaitsev and six others employed at medical providers owned by Zaitsev all made high-dollar donations to the Adams campaign in 2018.
Allan Weissman, who worked with Zaitsev in 2018, said the donations were made “at the advice of Dr. Zaitsev,” though denied having been reimbursed by him. It is illegal for a private individual to reimburse another individual to skirt contribution limits, according to the Daily News.
The New York City Campaign Finance Board told the Daily News that they are “still in the process of auditing donations associated with the 2021 Adams’ campaign.”
A New York court indicted six people in July in connection with a straw donation scheme to funnel money to Adams in order to gain influence over him, the New York Post reported. Straw donations involve giving another person money for the express purpose of donating it to a political campaign, according to the Campaign Legal Center.
The New York Mayor’s Office did not return the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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