Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, condemned Benjamin at a news conference early Tuesday afternoon.
“This is a simple story of corruption,” Williams said, adding later, “Taxpayer money for campaign contributions. Quid pro quo. This for that. That’s bribery, plain and simple.”
Benjamin was indicted on multiple counts, including bribery and honest services wire fraud conspiracy, bribery, honest services wire fraud and two counts of falsification of records, for an alleged conspiracy that took place while he was a state senator.
A source familiar with the matter says Benjamin turned himself into authorities Tuesday morning. Benjamin pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court and is out on $250,000 bond, according to court documents.
CNN has reached out to a spokesperson for Benjamin and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office for comment. A Benjamin campaign spokesperson previously told CNN, “Neither Lieutenant Governor Benjamin nor his campaign are being accused of any wrongdoing and they are prepared to fully cooperate with authorities. As soon as the campaign discovered that these contributions were improperly sourced, they donated them to the Campaign Finance Board, pursuant to guidance obtained from the CFB.”
Alleged scheme involved campaign contributions
The indictment states that from about 2019 to 2021, when Benjamin was a state senator, he allegedly took part in a scheme to get campaign contributions from an unnamed Harlem-based real estate developer in exchange for a $50,000 state grant for a non-profit organization controlled by the developer. The non-profit organization donated school supplies and other resources to public school programs and students in Harlem, the indictment states.
“In doing so, Benjamin abused his authority as a New York State senator, engaging in a bribery scheme using public funds for his own corrupt purposes,” the indictment states.
Williams said that although the $50,000 state grant was ultimately not delivered, it “will not be a legal impediment to this indictment.”
The indictment alleges that others acting at his direction or on his behalf “engaged in a series of lies and deceptions to cover up his scheme” by allegedly falsifying campaign donor forms, misleading municipal regulators and providing false information in vetting forms that Benjamin submitted while he was under consideration to be appointed as the next lieutenant governor of New York. Benjamin served as a state senator from June 2017, representing northern Manhattan, until he was appointed by Hochul.
The unnamed real estate developer allegedly made fraudulent contributions to Benjamin’s failed bid to become the New York City comptroller by purportedly making donations in the names of people who had not personally funded the contributions or who were reimbursed for making the contributions, the indictment states.
Prosecutors allege that Benjamin told staff and advisers that certain contributions were collected by the developer, and that on more than one occasion, Benjamin personally met with the developer to receive his contributions — even meeting on the street to collect a “bundle” of contributions.
The indictment also alleges that Benjamin told the developer he’d help the real estate mogul obtain community board approval for a zoning variance permit for a property he owned, in exchange for a contribution to a political action committee.
When the New York State Board of Elections notified Benjamin’s campaign in 2019 that it needed to file forms identifying the owners of LLC’s that had contributed to the campaign, including one linked to the unnamed real estate developer, Benjamin allegedly asked a staffer in an email, “What happens if someone refuses to provide that information?” Prosecutors allege that the campaign ultimately did not provide information on who owned the company associated with the developer to election officials.
The Benjamin indictment also alleges that while he was under consideration for the lieutenant governor post, he allegedly falsely claimed on a questionnaire that he had never directly exercised his governmental authority concerning a donor he directly solicited. Prosecutors claim Benjamin called the real estate developer two hours after he submitted the questionnaire, for the first time in six months.
Hochul’s opponents pounce on news
Williams would not comment on what, if any, contact investigators have had with Hochul’s office.
“This indictment is about one person: Brian Benjamin,” Williams said.
It is unclear whether Benjamin will resign from his post. Like Hochul, he is the party’s endorsed candidate in the 2022 primary, and cannot be removed from the ballot.
A senior New York State Democratic Party official told CNN on Tuesday that “it would be best if (the party) found another candidate, if it’s at all possible for (Benjamin) to be removed from the line” and that party leadership is planning to “explore all the options on that.”
“It’s a complicated process. There’s not that many ways to do it, but there are some ways to do it. So we’re looking at that,” the official said. “And if we can, then obviously there’s a committee on vacancies and we would take the recommendation of the governor for who we should replace him with, if that’s at all possible.”
The official also defended Hochul against criticism of her vetting process, referencing prosecutors’ allegation that Benjamin had lied on his official background check.
“The US attorney made clear in his indictment today that one of the things was an issue was Brian Benjamin’s lack of honesty in the vetting process,” the official said. “I don’t know how you fault the governor or her vetting team, frankly, for getting misinformation. She does not have access to investigations ongoing in the US attorney’s office.”
Benjamin is running against two other Democrats, Ana Maria Archila, a longtime progressive leader supported by the liberal Working Families Party, and Diana Reyna, a former member of the New York City council.
Archila, in an email to supporters on Tuesday, said Benjamin had betrayed New Yorkers.
“Our elected officials should be held to the highest ethical standard to preserve the public trust. My opponent has violated that compact,” Archila said. “Albany has been plagued by corruption for too long, with politicians trading favors for the money of the wealthy and powerful.”
In a joint statement, Reyna and New York Rep. Tom Suozzi, who is challenging Hochul in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, cast Benjamin’s arrest as a mark against the new governor.
“Today’s bombshell is an indictment on Kathy Hochul’s lack of experience and poor judgement,” Suozzi and Reyna said. “Hochul’s first decision was to pick her LG, who she entrusted with leading her failed bail reform effort, negotiating the budget and last week said she had the utmost faith in him despite many reports of investigations into his conduct in office.”
The New York State Democratic Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story has been updated with additional reporting Tuesday.
