The Frank Carone indictment has sent another shockwave through the political world of former New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Once the mayor’s most trusted aide and self-described “brother,” Carone now stands accused of orchestrating a bribery scheme that allegedly funneled a multimillion-dollar migrant shelter contract to a Queens hotel owner in exchange for roughly $120,000 disguised as legal fees.

Federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed the corruption case on Wednesday, adding yet another chapter to a long string of scandals surrounding Adams’ time in office.

A Loyal Confidant in the Crosshairs

What makes the Frank Carone indictment especially striking is who is bringing it. President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is now pursuing one of Adams’ closest allies, a sharp reversal from how it handled the former mayor’s own legal troubles. Just last year, that same DOJ dropped Adams’ bribery case under a deeply controversial arrangement.

Carone, who pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, bribery, fraud, and obstruction, kept his comments brief outside Brooklyn Federal Court. When asked whether he hoped Trump might intervene in his case the way the administration did for Adams, he simply said he was “hoping to have a nice dinner tonight.”

His attorney, Arthur Aidala, was far more pointed. He dismissed the case as a baseless “Frankenstein indictment,” floated the idea that the Biden administration may have launched it as part of a political grudge against Adams, and promised an aggressive defense.

Who Else Was Charged

Carone wasn’t the only person named. Prosecutors also brought charges against:

• Anthony Carone, Frank’s younger brother, accused of helping route the bribe money
• Yan Po Zhu, the hotel owner at the center of the alleged scheme
• Crystal Chen, an employee of Yan who allegedly assisted with the payments

All three pleaded not guilty alongside Frank Carone. Each defendant was released on bond, required to surrender their passports, and placed under travel restrictions. Frank Carone’s $2 million bond was secured partly against his property in Boca Raton, Florida.

Federal prosecutor Sara Winik told the court the government pushed for those restrictions out of concern the defendants might destroy evidence or flee. She pointed to allegations that the Carone brothers deleted text messages once they learned about the investigation.

How the Alleged Scheme Worked

According to prosecutors, the scheme began in mid-2022 while Carone served as Adams’ first chief of staff. At the time, New York City was struggling to house a surge of migrants, mostly from Latin America, and the Adams administration was paying hotels and private facilities hundreds of millions of dollars to provide shelter.

Investigators allege that Carone leaned on officials at the Department of Social Services to award a $6.8 million shelter contract to Yan’s Long Island City hotel, the Microtel Inn. Agency officials had reportedly raised concerns about whether the location was even suitable, but Carone allegedly pressured then-commissioner Gary Jenkins to push the deal through anyway. Jenkins later joined Carone’s lobbying firm after both men left city government.

One text message cited in the indictment captures the alleged gratitude. In September 2022, Yan messaged Carone, “Thank you my big guy,” after Carone began pressuring the housing agency.

In return, prosecutors say Yan, with Chen’s help, paid Carone monthly bribes of $10,000 beginning in October 2022. The payments were allegedly dressed up as legal fees and funneled through Anthony Carone using a bank account tied to a law firm where the younger brother worked.

From there, the money allegedly covered Frank Carone’s personal expenses, including travel, dining, fitness memberships, clothing, and groceries. Some funds were also wired directly to him through another law firm account he controlled.

A text message from Chen to an associate summed up the alleged motive bluntly, describing it as giving the two brothers “a way out” financially.

Prosecutors and Defense Trade Sharp Words

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Considine framed the case as a betrayal of public trust, saying the defendants took advantage of an unprecedented migrant crisis for their own enrichment by securing a shelter contract funded in part by billions in federal dollars.

The defense painted a very different picture. Aidala argued that Carone had known about the investigation for three years and tied it back to Adams’ public clashes with the Biden White House over immigration policy. He claimed Carone became a target only after speaking out on those issues, and that despite an exhaustive three-year probe into Carone’s personal life, the charges remain unfounded.

The indictment also detailed a close personal relationship between the Carones and Yan, even including a photograph of a barefoot Frank Carone touring the wine cellar of Yan’s Nassau County home in the summer of 2022.

Connections, Recusals, and a Familiar Pattern

Before entering City Hall in early 2022, Frank and Anthony Carone spent years as partners at Abrams Fensterman, a politically wired law firm. Notably, Joseph Nocella, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, previously worked at that same firm and recused himself from the case.

Carone left the administration in late 2022 to launch Oaktree Solutions, a lobbying firm that quickly attracted high-profile clients, some with business before the city. His brother also works there.

The arrests fit a troubling pattern. Adams himself was indicted in September 2024 on bribery, fraud, and campaign finance charges before Trump’s DOJ dropped the case less than a year later, after Adams claimed political persecution. Other figures in Adams’ orbit, including former chief adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin and ex-Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich, have also faced federal scrutiny.

A Wider Web of Investigations

Wednesday’s events extended beyond Carone. In a separate matter, federal agents raided the homes of several former NYPD officials close to Adams, including former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey and former top spokesman Tarik Sheppard.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed those raids were part of a distinct investigation led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. She reaffirmed her commitment to rooting out misconduct within the department.

For now, Frank Carone maintains his innocence. A spokesperson for Adams offered prayers for Carone’s family and praised his decades of public service, while the legal battle ahead promises to keep the former mayor’s inner circle in the headlines for months to come.