Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin arrested for campaign fraud

 

 

 

NBC News 

New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin has surrendered to authorities to face campaign finance fraud-related charges in connection with a past campaign, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

Benjamin is expected to appear in Manhattan federal court later Tuesday. Gov. Kathy Hochul's office couldn't immediately be reached for comment on the arrest, nor could a representative for Benjamin.

His arrest comes after reports that Manhattan federal prosecutors and the FBI were investigating whether Benjamin knowingly engaged in a campaign finance fraud scheme. Subpoenas were issued in connection with the investigation, two sources familiar with the subpoenas said at the time.

The investigators also looked into whether Benjamin helped dole out state money to contributors and/or their projects as part of the alleged fraud.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney and a spokesman for the FBI both previously declined WNBC requests for comment regarding the investigation into Benjamin.  

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins also did not return requests for comment. 

Benjamin was appointed lieutenant governor by Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2021, shortly after losing a primary bid for New York City comptroller. He previously served as the New York State Senator for District 30, which is made up of Harlem, East Harlem (El Barrio), the Upper West Side, Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights and Morningside Heights.

 Wonder who Kathy Clown is going to pick next and if she will bother to vet that person thoroughly.

Bad pick Governor Hochul

THE CITY 

Newly appointed Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin stands to make a hefty profit from insider stock he holds in a company that arranges loans with interest rates up to 500% and has been sued repeatedly, THE CITY has learned.

Gov. Kathy Hochul recently tapped Benjamin for her old job after she succeeded Andrew Cuomo, who resigned amid sexual harassment allegations and other scandals.

Benjamin, a Manhattan state senator for the past four years, is set to be sworn into his new role on Thursday.

The Harvard Business School grad got the inside edge via his role as a founding board member of Next Point Acquisition Corp., an investment firm that earlier this year bought the oft-sued California firm LoanMe, records show.

Benjamin resigned from NextPoint’s board in March, but kept his stock. THE CITY estimates that Benjamin could net a hefty $80,000 profit off what appears to be his initial $4,100 investment if he sold the stock tomorrow on the Toronto Stock Exchange where it’s traded.

The California-based LoanMe arranges small personal and business loans for borrowers with troubled credit histories, using banks in states with few restrictions on interest rates. LoanMe borrowers are then on the hook for interest rates of 98% to 500%, plus fees, according to rates in some states posted on the company’s website.

LoanMe does no business in New York because interest rates on most loans are by law capped at 16% per annum. The state considers rates higher than 25% to be criminal.

LoanMe has been sued 33 times in seven states in the last five years, records show. The firm has settled all but two of those lawsuits under terms that remain sealed, records show.

In some suits, consumers charged that LoanMe bombarded them with texts and robo calls pushing them to take out loans. In others, borrowers alleged LoanMe employed similar harassment if they were late with payments.

Some borrowers have also alleged LoanMe reported to credit rating agencies that they still owed money even after they’d paid their debts — an erroneous claim they said destroyed their credit.