Latest news with #PublicCampaignFinanceBoard
New York Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
NY state Senate candidate allegedly recruited homeless people to net matching funds: report
ALBANY – An upstate GOP state senate candidate's campaign allegedly paid homeless people to claim they made donations to him, allowing him to net matching taxpayer funds, a report says. Several homeless men in Auburn told the Albany Times Union in a story published Friday that Caleb Slater's campaign offered them $30 a pop to sign paperwork saying they donated $250 to his run in November. This way, Slater, who ultimately lost his bid for office, could allegedly receive public funds from the state that match contributions up to $250, the paper noted. Advertisement At least seven people who spoke to the outlet say they never contributed to Slater's campaign but were paid to submit contribution forms. One man said he was asked to recruit other straw donors as well. A source sent The Post this photo seeming to show a volunteer or staffer of Caleb Slater's state Senate campaign offering $25 visa gift cards to people in exchange for $10. Obtained by The NY Post A photo apparently taken during the campaign and shared with The Post also seems to show someone with Slater's campaign posted at a table on a street corner with a sign offering to give people free $25 Visa gift cards in exchange for $10, which would be illegal under state campaign finance rules. Advertisement Slater's campaign ultimately netted $22,000 from the state public financing system before he was trounced by incumbent Democratic state Sen. Rachel May (D-Onondaga) in the general election. May won with 58% of the vote. Slater did not respond to The Post's request for comment. But he first told the Times Union that its reporting was 'inaccurate. 'Your facts are incorrect,' he texted the outlet. 'At this time, I have nothing to say.' Advertisement He then followed up by telling the outlet that he was contacting the Public Campaign Finance Board, saying, 'Within these questions are statements that I am learning of for the first time.' A rep for the state Board of Elections declined to confirm the existence of a possible investigation into the campaign to The Post. 'The [Public Campaign Finance Board] has a number of audit and anti-fraud measures in place, and the PCFB enforcement unit is proud to work alongside law enforcement agencies to ensure any alleged violations are treated seriously,' a board rep only said. Slater lost his bid against Democratic state Sen. Rachael May in 2024. Caleb Slater/X Advertisement State Sen. George Borrello, who leads the senate GOP's campaign arm, told The Post, 'Caleb Slater was never endorsed by the Senate Republican Campaign Committee or any of our members. 'Unfortunately, the primary voters did not vote our way. He received no resources from us even after the primary.' Last year's elections were the first cycle in which New York provided funds to candidates based on small-dollar donations.
New York Post
13-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Ex-NY Assembly Dem candidate swiped $160K in taxpayer funds in illegal campaign finance scheme: feds
A former Democratic candidate for New York state Assembly allegedly stole $160,000 in taxpayer cash by defrauding the state's new campaign matching-funds program, federal prosecutors said Friday. Dao Yin, who lost his long-shot bid for the Assembly's 40th District in Queens last year, was slapped with a wire fraud charge and arraigned in Brooklyn federal court Friday. Yin, 62, is accused of submitting bogus signatures to inflate the number of campaign contributions he received in order to boost the amount of public matching-funds he was entitled to receive, according to the feds. Yin, 62, is accused of submitting bogus signatures to inflate the number of campaign contributions he received. facebook/Daoyinfornewyork 'Through lies and deceit, the defendant allegedly stole over $160,000 in taxpayer dollars to fund his campaign for elected office,' said Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, in a statement. The Queens resident and Chinese national submitted over 200 contribution cards to the state Public Campaign Finance Board — 'many' of which were fraudulent, the complaint against him alleges. The forged signatures raised red flags at the CFB, which requested some letters from the donors to ensure the contributions were legit. But Yin allegedly submitted fake letters in response, evidently duping the finance board, according to the complaint. When Yin got obliterated in the primary — receiving only around 6% of the vote — it sparked even more alarms. That 6% translated to roughly only 185 votes, meaning Yin had more contributors than voters. A sign marks the location of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters building on April 30, 2025, in Washington, DC. Getty Images 'As alleged, the defendant, a former candidate for public office, submitted forged campaign contribution cards from members of the very community he hoped to represent, to fraudulently obtain thousands of dollars in public matching funds that he was not entitled to receive,' Brooklyn US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. wrote in a statement. 'Today's arrest demonstrates that this Office will protect the integrity of elections and pursue candidates for elected office who violate campaign finance laws,' he said. Yin, who did not return a request for comment Friday, could face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted. The state's generous campaign matching-funds program has no limit and allows candidates in tight races to pocket $12 in taxpayer cash for every $1 of small donations made by district residents. The state Board of Elections didn't immediately comment.
