A Brooklyn businessman admitted Friday to funneling illegal campaign contributions to Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign — in the first guilty plea connected to the federal bribery case against the mayor.
Erden Arkan, the Turkish-born owner of KSK Construction Group in Williamsburg, copped to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in Manhattan federal court, telling the judge he knowingly broke the law by helping to coordinate the “straw donor” scheme.
“When I wrote the checks, I knew that the Eric Adams campaign would use the checks to apply for public matching funds,” Arkan said in English, while listening to a Turkish translation of the hearing on headphones.
Arkan reimbursed employees of his construction firm for their campaign donations at the request of a Turkish diplomatic official allegedly at the center of the case against Adams.
Straw donor schemes are illegal because they’re used to skirt campaign contribution limits or shield who’s actually funding a candidate.
“When you did these things, did you know that what you were doing was illegal?” Judge Dale Ho asked.
“Yes,” Arkan, who wore a gray suit, softly replied.
The federal charge could come with a sentence of up to five years in prison and $250,000 fine, but prosecutors recommended that the judge only jail Arkan for up to six months, if at all, and fine him up $9,500 as part of the plea deal, court papers show.
The feds allege that Adams personally sought the donations from Arkan and the Turkish official at an April 2021 dinner, according to the indictment against the mayor.
The diplomat allegedly arranged free or heavily discounted luxury travel for Adams, the then-Brooklyn borough president, in exchange for political favors, including fast-tracking the opening of the Turkish Consulate.
Adams has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing since the indictment dropped in September.
It was unclear if Arkan, who agreed to the plea deal last month, will testify against Adams.
Prosecutors requested the judge schedule Arkan’s sentencing after the mayor’s trial, which is set for April.
Arkan was released on $100,000 bail and ordered to return for sentencing on Aug. 11. He agreed to pay $18,000 in restitution.
His lawyer, Jonathan Rosen, declined to comment on his way out of court.
Adams’ defense team was unfazed by the deal, saying the government hasn’t turned over any evidence in discovery connected to Arkan that would incriminate the mayor
The deal comes just days after the feds signaled more charges could be coming down the pike soon — telling the judge they had unearthed “additional criminal conduct” by Adams and his associates.
KSK Construction in Williamsburg was one of the locations raided by the feds in November 2023 when news of the Southern District of New York’s probe first began public.
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