Mamdani Referred to DOJ For Criminal Charges Over Alleged Foreign Donations
New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is facing serious legal trouble after a conservative campaign finance watchdog filed two criminal referrals accusing him of taking illegal foreign donations — a potential bombshell in a race already marked by controversy.
The Coolidge Reagan Foundation submitted referrals Tuesday to both the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, alleging that Mamdani violated federal and state election laws by accepting contributions from foreign nationals.
The filings follow an explosive New York Post investigation revealing that Mamdani’s campaign accepted nearly $13,000 from at least 170 donors with addresses outside the United States, including one from his own mother-in-law in Dubai.
“These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors,” said Dan Backer, president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation and a national expert on campaign finance law. “This was a sustained pattern of foreign money flowing into a New York City mayoral race, which is a clear violation of both federal law and New York City campaign finance rules,” he told The Post.
Backer added that Mamdani’s team “was on notice for months” about the illegal contributions but “did nothing meaningful to stop it.”
The Coolidge Reagan Foundation — which has previously targeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, and the Democratic National Committee — is urging prosecutors to investigate and, if warranted, bring charges against Mamdani.
According to the group, the questionable donations came from countries including Australia, Turkey, France, Canada, and Germany — all clear violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act, which strictly prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions in any U.S. election.
“The law is crystal clear that foreign nationals may not participate in American elections,” Backer emphasized. “Yet Mamdani’s campaign repeatedly accepted donations from individuals abroad, some even tied to regions and individuals openly sympathetic to hostile actors.”
The foundation’s filing accused Mamdani’s operation of showing a “systematic failure to comply” with election law. Individuals who knowingly accept illegal foreign funds can face hefty fines and imprisonment under federal statute.
While the campaign has refunded some of the tainted money, records show 88 foreign-linked donations — totaling $7,190 — remain unreturned. Mamdani has so far raised roughly $4 million in private contributions and received another $12.7 million in public matching funds from New York City taxpayers.
Campaign spokeswoman Dora Pekec pushed back on the allegations, suggesting that some foreign-addressed donors may actually be U.S. citizens living abroad. “The Campaign has a rigorous compliance process… including a protocol to confirm whether donors with foreign addresses are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents,” Pekec told Fox News Digital, adding that refunds would be issued for any unlawful donations.
But critics say the scandal exposes a deeper rot within New York’s Democratic machine. Mamdani, a self-described socialist who has previously associated with terrorist-linked figures, remains ahead in most polls against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican contender Curtis Sliwa.
Last week, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) blasted Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul for endorsing Mamdani, calling him a “jihadist” for his meeting with Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
With Election Day less than a month away, the controversy surrounding Mamdani’s campaign has thrust foreign influence, campaign integrity, and national security into the center of New York’s political spotlight.