New York Lt. Gov. Arrested On Charges Of Bribery, Fraud And Falsification Of Records

New York’s Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin was arrested Tuesday morning after he was indicted on five counts which include bribery, fraud and falsification of records in a scheme to funnel illegal donations to a previous campaign, according to the New York Times.

The five-count indictment accused Mr. Benjamin of conspiring to direct state funds to a Harlem real estate investor in exchange for orchestrating thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to Mr. Benjamin’s unsuccessful 2021 campaign for New York City comptroller. -NY Times

“In so doing, Benjamin abused his authority as a New York State senator, engaging in a bribery scheme using public funds for his own corrupt purposes,” said prosecutors in the indictment. The investor, meanwhile, was arrested on federal charges in November.

Benjamin, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s #2, surrendered to federal authorities Tuesday morning.

The indictment followed a joint investigation by the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, the city’s Department of Investigation and the FBI.

Benjamin also allegedly “engaged in a series of lies and deceptions to cover up the scheme,” which included the falsification of campaign donation forms, misleading NYC authorities, and giving false information as part of a background check when he became lieutenant governor last year.

According to the report, there is no indication that Gov. Hochul knew of Benjamin’s alleged crimes, which prosecutors say occurred when he was a state senator.