Public Corruption and PPP Fraud

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have arrested and indicted Anthony "Tony" Herbert, a former senior staffer in New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office who was previously fired after calling Charlie Kirk’s assassination "karma," on six counts tied to alleged bribery, extortion and fraud schemes. SDNY says that between 2022 and 2025, while serving as City Hall’s liaison to public‑housing residents, Herbert took about $16,000 in cash bribes in two pay‑to‑play operations: steering a security firm toward lucrative New York City Housing Authority contracts and pushing payments from a burial‑assistance program to a funeral home in exchange for kickbacks. Separately, prosecutors allege he fraudulently obtained $20,418 in 2021 by filing a bogus Paycheck Protection Program application for a fictitious baked‑goods company before joining the mayor’s office. Herbert faces bribery, honest‑services wire‑fraud, federal‑program‑fraud, extortion and wire‑fraud charges, each carrying maximum sentences of 10 to 20 years, with IRS‑CI and SDNY officials accusing him of repeatedly abusing public office "to line his pockets." The case folds a relatively small‑dollar PPP fraud into a broader pattern of alleged municipal corruption that federal prosecutors say exploited programs meant to protect low‑income New Yorkers.