‘Left here holding the bag’: Former Eric Adams aide is sentenced after mayor’s case is dismissed

(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in New York on Tuesday sentenced Mohamed Bahi, the only member of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration convicted in an illegal donations scheme, to three years’ probation, including the first year under home confinement, after the Trump Justice Department forced the same judge to dismiss a criminal case against the mayor himself that involved the same scheme.

The sentence is less than prosecutors sought but the judge concluded Bahi was less culpable than his boss.

“It is hard to escape the impression that Mr. Bahi is left here holding the bag,” U.S. District Judge Dale Ho said, calling the dismissal of the charges against the mayor the “elephant in the room.”

Someone in the courtroom gallery briefly clapped when Judge Ho questioned a prosecutor about the decision to toss the case against Adams, which the Trump administration said was necessary to free him to cooperate with the president’s immigration agenda.  

“What am I to make of a person above him, the mayor, had his indictment against him dismissed?” Ho asked.  

The prosecutor, Rob Sobelman, urged the judge to “focus on Bahi,” who he said “committed a series of serious criminal acts” that warranted prison time beyond the zero-to-six month sentence called for by federal sentencing guidelines.

“We are not seeking a lengthy period of incarceration but a modest one is appropriate here,” Sobelman said.  

Bahi, 40, served as a Muslim liaison at New York City Hall until his 2024 arrest. He pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count for his role in the illegal donations scheme, telling donors to lie to the FBI and to deleting Signal from his phone as agents arrived to search him.

“Straw donor schemes like this are a serious offense,” Judge Ho said. “This is not the kind of conduct that merits a slap on the wrist.”

“Standing here today is painful but necessary,” Bahi told the judge. “I accept full responsibility for my actions.”

Bahi was the second person charged in the fundraising scheme to plead guilty after a businessman, Erden Arkan, admitted he laundered straw donations. Arkan was sentenced to probation.

The defense sought a year’s probation for Bahi, downplaying his role in the scheme.

“It’s a far cry from careful planning and execution,” defense attorney Derek Adams said. “This wasn’t some grand scheme of Bahi’s to get Adams elected.”

The scheme was outlined in the now-defunct indictment against Mayor Adams that alleged bribery and fraud offenses.  Adams denied seeking and accepting straw donations that would help him reach the threshold for public matching funds for the 2021 campaign.  

The directive to drop the case against the mayor prompted the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, to resign her position in protest. She has since joined a law firm started by former Solicitor General Paul Clement.

Mayor Adams celebrated the dismissal of the indictment but his political career did not recover.  He dropped his bid for reelection and will leave office on Jan. 1 when mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is sworn in.