NYC construction kingpin who funneled illegal donations to Mayor Adams' 2021 campaign apologizes to taxpayers as he gets wrist-slap sentence
Erden Arkan, 76, the owner of KSK Construction Group in Williamsburg, had faced up to six months behind bars under federal sentencing guidelines, but prosecutors and a probation officer agreed no prison time was warranted.
'I'm simply sorry to the New York taxpayers,' said a rueful Arkan before he was sentenced to one year of probation in Manhattan federal court.
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The Turkey native pleaded guilty in January to a wire fraud charge for illegally reimbursing his employees for roughly $18,000 of donations they made toward Adams' successful 2021 campaign for mayor.
3 Construction kingpin Erden Arkan told the court that he was sorry for helping rip off taxpayers in the campaign scam.
William Farrington
The Adams campaign then used those funds to fraudulently hoover up public dollars under a city program that matches donations 8-to-1 with taxpayer cash, prosecutors alleged.
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The feds said Adams had personally asked the wealthy magnate and a Turkish diplomat for campaign cash at an April 2021 dinner.
Arkan tried to convince other members of the city's Turkish community to bundle donations to Adams at a fundraiser he held soon after the meeting at his business's headquarters, court papers said.
'Unfortunately, this is how things work in this country,' he allegedly wrote to his colleagues.
Adams was charged in September 2024 with taking $123,000 in travel perk bribes and ripping off taxpayers with bogus campaign cash from Turks in exchange for help fast-tracking the opening of the Manhattan Turkish consulate building.
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3 Arkan's business has netted more than $1 billion since its founding in 2003, his lawyer said.
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But the Justice Department under President Trump took the unusual move in February of pushing for the historic corruption case against Hizzoner to be dismissed, without commenting on the strength of the prosecution.
The judge overseeing both Adams and Arkan's cases, Dale Ho, has suggested that the DOJ moved to toss the charges in exchange for the mayor's help rolling out the White House's immigration agenda.
Adams pleaded not guilty and has also denied allegations that there was a crooked 'quid pro quo' tied to the case dismissal.
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Arkan's lawyer, Jonathan Rosen, accused the government on Friday of being 'unfair' and inconsistent in continuing to prosecute his client after Ho agreed to toss Adams' case.
3 Federal prosecutors moved to toss Adams' case earlier this year without commenting on the strength of the evidence.
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'I'm commenting on the incoherence,' Rosen said.
But a visibly irked Ho shot back, 'What impact does that have on the decision before me today?'
The judge added that Arkan — who said his company netted more than $1 billion in revenue since its founding in 2003 — had otherwise lived an 'exemplary' life before his arrest, before wishing him good luck in the future.
'I promise to do good. This will never happen again,' Arkan told the court.
On top of the one year of probation, Arkan was ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution and a $9,500 fine.
A rep for Adams' 2025 campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
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