Erlene King, Wire Fraud, New York 2023

By: [Crime Journalist]

Brooklyn, NY – In a shocking turn of events, Erlene King, former campaign treasurer for a candidate running for Brooklyn Borough President, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a federal court in Brooklyn.

According to court documents, King served as the campaign treasurer for a candidate who ran in a primary for the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President.

She admitted to obtaining fraudulent donations to induce the CFB to provide matching funds to the campaign.

A number of these contributions, which were obtained at King’s direction, were nominee contributions made in the names of individuals who either did not personally fund the contributions or were not aware of the donations.

“Instead of playing by the rules New York City established for free and fair elections, the defendant attempted to use the city’s matching funds program to give the campaign an unfair advantage,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace.

“My Office and our law enforcement partners are focused on rooting out corruption in our electoral system to ensure that all candidates are operating on a level playing field.”

The CFB’s matching funds program provides eligible candidates with public funds based on the number and amount of certain donor contributions.

In the 2021 election cycle, candidates received up to $8 in matching funds for each $1 of eligible contributions, up to $175 per contributor.

If a candidate received an eligible contribution of $175, they could collect up to $1,400 in matching funds.

The program provided up to $1,457,777 in public matching funds to a candidate for the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President.

“Erlene King deprived New York City residents of a fair election by attempting to manipulate hundreds of thousands of dollars in donor contributions to unlawfully favor her candidate,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy.

“King abused her position as a campaign treasurer and attempted to profit from exploiting a system designed to represent the voices of the city.

The FBI remains steadfast in its mission to eliminate any source of corruption polluting our city’s democratic processes.”

When sentenced, King faces up to 20 years in prison.