Federal authorities arrested a former high-ranking official in Eric Adams’s administration Tuesday, the latest in the corruption investigation that has continued to dog the scandal-ridden New York City mayor’s circle even after his departure from City Hall.
Anthony Herbert, who served as a liaison to the city’s public housing residents and worked within the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit, faces charges for bribery and extortion, wire fraud, and federal program fraud. Herbert was arraigned in federal court Tuesday afternoon.
A release from the Southern District of New York said Herbert is accused of accepting $11,000 in cash to steer lucrative security contracts toward a specific firm for the New York City Housing Authority.
In a particularly grim allegation, he is accused of steering burial assistance funds designated for low-income families to a funeral home in exchange for a $5,000 kickback from the director.
The release also alleges Herbert submitted a fraudulent $20,418 COVID-19-era paycheck protection program loan application for a “purported baked good business.”
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton characterized the case as a “blatant pay-to-play scheme,” noting that Herbert allegedly filed false financial disclosure forms to hide the illicit payments.
The indictment also captures Herbert’s alleged mindset in a recorded conversation with a security executive.
“This is what we do, bro,” Herbert said in the recording. “Ain’t nobody gonna do it for us.”
Herbert’s charges come just months after another Adams aide, Mohamed Bahi, was convicted in an illegal donations scheme and sentenced to three years of probation. Adams’s chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, is in the middle of a bribery case.
While Adams saw his 2024 federal case for corruption charges dismissed with prejudice in April 2025, his administration remains under an intense legal microscope.
Clayton emphasized that “New Yorkers deserve honest and competent public officials,” vowing to hold accountable those who “abuse their positions of trust to benefit themselves.”
NEW YORK SET RECORDS FOR SPORTS BETTING IN 2025 WITH $26.3 BILLION IN WAGERS
Outside of the courtroom, Adams has provoked outrage in the cryptocurrency sphere for his promotion of “NYC Token,” a Solana-based crypto that plummeted 80% in value within hours of its launch Tuesday.
Simultaneously, Adams is defending against a defamation claim filed by former interim Police Commissioner Thomas Dolon, who alleged that the former mayor engaged in “public character assassination” by making false statements that the commissioner was facing mental decline.