The Office investigates and prosecutes the payors and recipients of bribes to public officials at the federal, state, and local levels.  Recent examples include the following cases:

• U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, His Wife, And Three New Jersey Businessmen Charged with Bribery Offenses:  In Fall 2023, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, his wife Nadine Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen named Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes were charged with bribery-related offenses.  The charges arose out of a years-long scheme through which, the indictment alleges, Hana, Uribe, and Daibes paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to the Menendezes, in exchange for Senator Menendez using his official position and influence, including as the Chairman and/or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for the personal benefit of these businessmen and to benefit the Governments of Egypt and Qatar.  Menendez, Hana, and Daibes were convicted in July 2024, following a nine-week jury trial.  On January 29, 2025, Menendez, Hana, and Daibes were sentenced to 11 years, more than eight years, and seven years in prison, respectively, for bribery, foreign agent, and obstruction of justice offenses.  Uribe pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing.  Trial for Nadine Menendez is scheduled to begin in March 2025.
• 70 Current and Former NYCHA Employees Charged with Bribery and Extortion Offenses: In February 2024, 70 current and former employees of the New York City Housing Authority ("NYCHA"), the largest public housing authority in the country, were charged with briber and extortion offenses.  The defendants are alleged to have demanded and received cash in exchange for NYCHA contracts by either requiring contractors to pay up front in order to be awarded the contracts or requiring payment after the contractor finished the work and needed a NYCHA employee to sign off on the completed job so the contractor could receive payment from NYCHA.  As alleged, the defendants typically demanded approximately 10% to 20% of the contract value - between $500 and $2,000 depending on the size of the contract - but some defendants demanded even higher amounts.  In total, these defendants allegedly demanded over $2 million in corrupt payments from contractors in exchange for awarding over $13 million worth of no-bid contracts. To date, 60 defendants have pled guilty and three defendants were convicted after trial.
• Two Former High-Ranking FDNY Officials Charged With Bribery, Corruption, And False Statements Offenses: In September 2024, two former chiefs of the New York City Fire Department  Bureau of Fire Prevention were charged with bribery, corruption, and false statements offenses.  The defendants are alleged to have repeatedly abused their positions of trust as high-ranking officials in the FDNY from at least in or about 2021 through in or about 2023 by soliciting and accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments in exchange for providing preferential treatment to certain individuals and companies with matters pending before the Bureau of Fire Prevention. Both defendants pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
• Current and Former Metropolitan Correctional Center Employees And Inmates Indicted for Bribery, Contraband Smuggling, Narcotics Distribution, And Obstruction of Justice Offenses: In 2021, three former employees of the Bureau of Prisons at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (“MCC”) in Manhattan and eight former MCC inmates were charged with participating in an extensive bribery and contraband smuggling scheme.  The MCC employees smuggled contraband including drugs, cellphones, alcohol, and cigarettes and received bribes in exchange.  The inmates then allegedly sold the contraband to other MCC inmates.  All three MCC employees and six of the charged inmates have entered guilty pleas in connection with this case.  The two remaining inmate defendants were convicted after a jury trial in January 2024. In November 2024, one of the trial defendants was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment.  Sentencing for the remaining trial defendant is pending.
• Six Defendants Charged for Corruption at Rikers Island: In April 2024, six defendants, including three former correction officers, were charged with federal crimes for their involvement in corruption at Rikers Island. All six defendants have since pled guilty.  Five of the six defendants have been sentenced, with sentences ranging from 12 months’ to 40 months’ imprisonment.

The Office also investigates and prosecutes individuals who violate federal campaign finance laws or engage in fraud through fundraising.  Recent examples include the following cases:

• Former Congressional Candidate Charged With Violating Campaign Finance Laws: In August 2024, Michelle Bond, who ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was charged with conspiring to cause and causing unlawful campaign contributions in connection with her unsuccessful run for Congress in 2022.  Bond is alleged to have received illegal campaign contributions from her romantic partner and to have attempted to conceal their conduct by, among other things, making false statements to a congressional committee and the Federal Election Commission, and lying to her employer at that time.
• PAC Fundraiser And PAC Treasurer Charged With Multi-Year Schemes To Defraud Donors:  In 2023, Richard Zeitlin and Robert Piaro were charged with defrauding donors to political action committees (“PACs”) through misrepresentations regarding how the PACs would use the donations.  The charges allege that Zeitlin, who owns various telemarketing call centers and associated businesses that raised millions of dollars for PACs, engaged in a scheme to defraud donors by providing false information about how the donors’ money would be spent and misleadingly suggesting that donors were giving to charities instead of PACs.  Similarly, the charges allege that Piaro, who was the Treasurer of multiple PACs that raised millions of dollars in donations, made and authorized fraudulent claims about how his PACs had spent and would spend donor contributions.  Zeitlin is scheduled to begin trial in October 2024.  Piaro is scheduled to begin trial in January 2025. Zeitlin pled guilty and was sentenced to 121 months’ imprisonment.  Piaro pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
• Two Sentenced To Prison For ‘We Build the Wall’ Online Fundraising Fraud Scheme :  In July 2023, Timothy Shea was sentenced to 63 months in prison for his role in carrying out a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign known as “We Build the Wall.”  Two additional defendants were previously charged, convicted and sentenced to prison terms.  The defendants repeatedly and falsely assured their victims that donations would be used to build a wall along the southern border of the United States, when in fact the defendants and others stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in donor funds, which they used for personal expenses. 

The Office investigates and prosecutes officers and members of labor unions who engage in bribery or embezzle union funds.  Recent examples include the following cases:

• Former President And Former Financial Advisor Of Law Enforcement Union Convicted Of Defrauding Union’s Annuity Fund:  In May 2023, Kenneth Wynder, who served as president of the Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (“LEEBA”), and Andrew Brown, who served as a financial advisor for LEEBA, were convicted at trial on charges that they embezzled and misappropriated money from union members’ retirement accounts.  As part of the scheme, Wynder and Brown made hundreds of thousands of dollars of fraudulent transfers from the retirement accounts for improper purposes, including for Wynder’s personal expenses and to pay one of Brown’s other clients.  Wynder also agreed with LEEBA’s Treasurer, Steven Whittick, to conceal Wynder’s income from the IRS and evade taxes.  Whittick pled guilty and was sentenced to more than two years in prison.  Wynder and Brown were convicted at trial and sentenced to 40 months and 18 months in prison, respectively.
• Leader Of Brooklyn Chapter Of The United Brotherhood Of Carpenters Convicted In Union Bribery Scheme:  In September 2021, Salvatore Tagliaferro, who served as President of the Local 926 chapter of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, was sentenced to five years in prison following his conviction at trial for soliciting cash bribes from hundreds of prospective members in exchange for union membership.  As a result of the scheme, Tagliaferro received tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments. 

The Office investigates and prosecutes recipients of government funds who engage in fraud or self-dealing.  Recent examples include the following cases:

• Seventeen New York City And State Employees Charged With Fraudulently Obtaining Pandemic Relief Loans:  In November 2022, 19 defendants, 17 of whom were government employees, were charged with submitting fraudulent applications for loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The defendants included seven employees of the New York City Police Department, three employees of the New York City Department of Education, two employees of the New York City Department of Correction, an employee of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, an employee of the New York City Department of Transportation, an employee of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, and an employee of the New York City Human Resources Administration.  The charges allege that the defendants submitted fraudulent applications for funds under the U.S. SBA Paycheck Protection Program and/or Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, all of which contained false statements about the small businesses they claimed to operate, and which resulted in the theft of more than $1.5 million.  All of the charges have been resolved and the sentencings were held.
• Five Defendants Arrested For Stealing Millions From Government-Funded Childcare Programs for Low Income Families:  In 2023, Martin Handler, Menachem Lieberman, Harold Schwartz, Isidore Handler, Ben Werczberger, and Arie Rangott were charged for their respective roles in overlapping schemes to steal from and defraud daycares receiving funding from the New York City Administration for Children’s Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”).  Several of the defendants were also charged with obstructing related HHS investigations. Martin Handler, Menachem Lieberman, Harold Schwartz, Isidore Handler, and Ben Werczberger pled guilty.  Arie Rangott was convicted following a trial in July 2024. Handler, Handler, and Werczberger have been sentenced.  Lieberman, Schwartz, and Rangott are awaiting sentencing.
• Bronx District Leader And Board Of Elections Employee Charged With Bribery, Extortion, Fraud, And Identity Theft Offenses: Nicole Torres, an elected district leader in the Bronx and an employee of the New York City Board of Elections, was charged with illegally demanding payments from Bronx residents to herself and a local organization in exchange for selecting those individuals as poll workers.  Torres is also charged with falsifying documents to make it appear that certain individuals had worked as poll workers on particular dates, when, in truth and fact, they had not.  Torres and other members of the scheme then allegedly split the fraudulently obtained paychecks issued to the no‑show poll workers.  Trial for Torres is scheduled to begin in May 2025.