Shamsuddin Riza, a contributor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign, pleaded guilty to conspiring to make illegal campaign donations. Riza, along with five others, was charged with steering taxpayer dollars to Adams’ campaign through a straw donor scheme. Under the plea agreement, Riza will be sentenced to three years probation and prohibited from organizing political fundraising events for that period. The scheme aimed to secure work on a Brooklyn hospital project once Adams assumed office. Despite Riza’s plea, neither Adams nor his campaign have been implicated in any wrongdoing. This development adds to a series of legal and ethical challenges facing Adams and his associates, including allegations of sexual harassment against a top adviser and federal raids on aides’ homes. Riza’s guilty plea marks the fourth in the case, with others due back in court soon. Additionally, a separate case involving a Chinese billionaire’s straw donations to Adams’ campaign has raised further scrutiny. The mayor denies any involvement in that case as well.
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