Lt. Governor of New York Brian Benjamin Arrested on Corruption, Fraud Charges

Brian Benjamin was appointed lieutenant governor of New York by Governor Kathy Hochul after Hochul vacated the position to replace former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 after being involved in multiple scandals. Hours after turning himself over to officials, it was revealed by Hochul that she had accepted Benjamin's own resignation.

New York Lieutenant Governor Brain Benjamin turned himself in to the authorities on Tuesday after being charged with bribery, wire fraud, and falsification of records for illegally soliciting fraudulent campaign contributions in an attempt to get public matching funds.

According to the indictment, Benjamin promised to give $50,000 of state grant funds to a charity owned by “individual CC-1” in exchange for enough small donations to make Benjamin eligible for public matching funds in his failed bid to become New York City Comptroller.

CC-1 is almost certainly referring to Gerald Migdol, a real estate developer who was charged last year with identity theft for giving falsified campaign contributions to Benjamin. At the time of Migdol’s arrest, the Benjamin campaign said that it returned all fraudulent campaign contributions and had no reason to suspect that the contributions were illegitimate.

Not so, according to prosecutors.

At the time, Benjamin was a state senator representing District 30 in Harlem. According to the indictment, Migdol gave Benjamin two checks worth $10,000 and a third check worth $5,000 - all with the names of relatives that had a different last name. Those contributions went towards Benjamin’s state senate campaign as he had not yet filed to run for city comptroller.

The checks came two weeks after Benjamin texted Migdol a picture of a resolution showing that $50,000 had been allocated to Migdol’s charity.

Once Benjamin officially started his comptroller campaign, Migdol allegedly started donating smaller amounts that were intended to make Benjamin eligible for public matching funds. In New York, public matching funds can be up to eight times the amount donated. Benjamin received $2 million in public funds for his comptroller campaign.

Benjamin publicly gave Migdol and his charity a $50,000 novelty check, but because the funds still had not been allocated, he was able to encourage more donations to his campaign since he could still alter to rescind the allocation.

According to prosecutors, Migdol donated to Benjamin’s campaigns by either reimbursing the person donating or by making donations himself for people who had not authorized donation. According to local news outlet The City, one donation listed Migdol’s two-year-old grandson as the donor.

Benjamin lost his bid for city comptroller, coming in fourth place. He gained 7% of the vote in the first round. He continued to serve in his role as a state senator until being appointed as lieutenant governor in 2021.