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Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 1:32 p.m. ET
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By
Samantha Max
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 1:32 p.m. ET
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An ex-aide to former Mayor Eric Adams faces new federal charges that he took more than $120,000 in kickbacks from a nonprofit that was supposed to spend the money on community programs, including for public housing residents.
Anthony Herbert is expected to appear in federal court Thursday afternoon to respond to new charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He pleaded not guilty earlier this year to a handful of other charges, including bribery and federal program fraud. Prosecutors filed an updated indictment this month in the Southern District of New York, which accuses him of engaging in a series of schemes to enrich himself through bribes, kickbacks and fraud.
Herbert’s attorney did not immediately comment.
Between 2022 and 2025, Herbert worked in Adams' community affairs unit, first as the Brooklyn borough director for community affairs, then as the citywide public housing liaison, according to court papers.
Before that, he worked as a community relations specialist for a power plant in Queens, prosecutors said. The new charges relate to his work at the power plant.
An earlier indictment accused Herbert of repeatedly abusing his authority in the mayor’s office by steering city business toward a security company and funeral home director in exchange for money. It also accused the former aide of trying to rake in about $20,000 from the COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program for a made-up baked goods company.
In the new indictment, the U.S. attorney’s office said Herbert took more than $120,000 in kickbacks from a nonprofit that received funding from the power company. Both the nonprofit and the power company are unnamed in court papers. Prosecutors said Herbert convinced the power company to give the nonprofit organization more than $820,000 for programs like health workshops, a Thanksgiving turkey drive and toy giveaways at NYCHA complexes. But more than $100,000 of that money instead went to undisclosed payments to Herbert, according to the indictment.
When a supervisor at the power company asked if the nonprofit was “legitimate,” Herbert said it came “highly recommended” and that its “community partnership is extremely important for our purposes,” but didn’t tell the supervisor that the organization’s director had agreed to compensate him for his help, the indictment alleges.
As Herbert worked to secure funding, he told the unnamed director, “I need the [sponsorship] to happen,” according to charging papers. The director replied that it would “certainly be a blessing for both of us,” prosecutors said.
After the power company agreed to give the organization money for a kids’ bus trip to an amusement park, Herbert and the nonprofit director decided to cancel one of the buses and pocket the extra money, according to the indictment. “[L]ets split that savings!!!” Herbert allegedly texted the nonprofit executive.
Prosecutors said the kickback scheme continued after Herbert left his job at the power company and started working in the mayor’s office. In an April 2022 text message exchange, he pressured the power company to give more money to the nonprofit and said he would be “an ally in city hall” with the “ear” of government leadership, according to messages cited in the indictment.
The nonprofit director sent Herbert a $1,000 payment for a “consultant fee” in December 2022, almost a year after he started working for the city, prosecutors said. In May 2024, Herbert sent the director a ghostwritten letter to share with the power company that expressed “deep concern” over its decision to pull back resources for the organization, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said Herbert recommended that the nonprofit director list his name and City Hall position on the letter, as well as copying the mayor’s office on the email exchange.
The mayor’s office fired Herbert in September 2025, after he celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination on social media. A mayoral spokesperson said at the time that he was already on leave.
Tagged
Politics
eric adams
us attorney's office
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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