With one week until Election Day in New York City, a campaign finance watchdog group, the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, filed two criminal referrals against Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday, claiming he received illegal contributions from foreign donors, but the Mamdani campaign maintains that any issue regarding financial contributions has been resolved.
A review of finance reports earlier this month revealed that Mamdani’s campaign had accepted nearly $13,000 from at least 170 donors from outside the United States, raising questions about his campaign’s financial compliance, as only US citizens or permanent legal residents are permitted to contribute to American political campaigns.
“These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors,” Dan Backer, a national campaign finance expert and president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “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. Mamdani’s campaign was on notice for months that it was accepting illegal foreign contributions, and yet it did nothing meaningful to stop it.”
However, the Mamdani campaign said that “31 of the 170 donors have proven their citizenship or legal permanent residence and have been deemed permissible by the Campaign Finance Board, and the remaining 139 have had their donations refunded.”
CRF sent the criminal referrals to Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday morning, citing potential violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act, which makes it unlawful to “accept or receive” contributions from foreign nationals in any federal, state or local election.
While foreign nationals are not permitted to donate to American political candidates under campaign finance law, US citizens and lawful permanent residents living abroad can legally contribute to US campaigns, which means that not all of Mamdani’s donations from addresses outside the US are necessarily from foreign nationals, a state campaign finance official indicated.
“The law is crystal clear that foreign nationals may not participate in American elections, and that includes making contributions. Yet Mamdani’s campaign repeatedly accepted donations from individuals abroad,” Backer added, arguing that “whether through negligence or intent, this conduct undermines the integrity of the democratic process.”
The DOJ referral calls for a criminal investigation “into potential FECA violations,” while the Manhattan referral cites “possible violations of New York Election Law § 17.152, which makes it a misdemeanor for two or more persons to conspire to promote an election by unlawful means.”
“Foreign money in American elections is not just a technical violation, it is a threat to self-government,” CRF Chairman Shaun McCutcheon said. “Every dollar illegally funneled into a campaign from abroad dilutes the voice of lawful American voters. This case must be investigated immediately, and those responsible held accountable.”
According to a Fox News Digital review of New York City Campaign Finance Board filings, Mamdani’s campaign collected roughly $13,000 from donors listing foreign addresses, including one $500 donation in January from his mother-in-law in Dubai, which was refunded four days later.
As of Oct. 14, filings revealed 91 of the foreign donations had been refunded, totaling $5,723.50.
The New York Post was the first to report on the out-of-town donations. The Mamdani campaign told the outlet last month that “we will of course return any donations that are not in compliance with CFB law.”
But CRF argued that “returning questionable donations doesn’t cure the violation.”
“CRF respectfully urges you to investigate and prosecute Mamdani’s apparent acceptance of illegal contributions from foreign nationals for his mayoral campaign,” Backer wrote in the criminal referrals.
While acknowledging that some of the donations from outside the country could be from “US citizens living abroad who are legally entitled to contribute,” Backer argued that “the totality of the circumstances suggests a reasonable likelihood a substantial number of these contributions are illegal.”
“Despite being well aware of this influx of illegal foreign contributions, it appears he did nothing throughout most of 2025 to prevent his campaign from accepting them in the first place,” Backer charged.
“All US citizens and permanent residents, including those who live outside the US, are legally permitted to donate to New York City mayoral campaigns under federal campaign finance law and New York State and City law,” Mamdani campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec told Fox News Digital when reached for comment.
“The Campaign has a rigorous compliance process in place to ensure compliance with these laws, including a protocol to confirm whether donors with foreign addresses are US citizens or lawful permanent residents. The Campaign will promptly issue refunds for any donations that are found to be impermissible,” Pekec added.
