WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2022) New York Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin surrendered to the FBI and was charged with bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit those offenses while he was a state senator, the US Justice Department said in a press release.
"As charged, Lieutenant Governor Benjamin, while a New York State senator, used his official position to obtain donations to his political campaigns," the release said on Tuesday.
New York Department of Investigations Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said in the release that Benjamin allegedly allocated public grant funds to a non-profit controlled by a co-conspirator in exchange for campaign contributions and then lied to hide this illegal scheme.
"In so doing, he served his own interests at the expense of his constituents, a betrayal of the public trust and a violation of Federal law," Strauber said.
Beginning in 2019, Benjamin concocted a plan to direct illegal donations to earlier political campaigns and cover up the criminal activity using lies and deception to conceal his bribery and other schemes, the release said.
" This includes fabricating campaign donor forms; lying to city regulators; and putting false information on vetting forms he completed while he sought to become lieutenant governor," the release added.
Benjamin has been charged with one count of federal program bribery, which carries a maximum of ten years in prison; one count of honest services wire fraud, with carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit those offenses, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and two counts of falsification of records, each of having a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to the release.
