Members of Mayor Eric Adams‘ inner circle have found themselves on the wrong end of multiple FBI search warrants and raids executed this week.
The homes of two top Adams staffers, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, were raided by FBI agents early Wednesday morning, according to published reports.
Later Thursday afternoon, as the mayor was leaving City Hall, he told reporters ““As a former law enforcement person, the goal is to follow the law. And that is what this administration always stood for and what we’re going to continue to stand for. Whatever information that’s needed, we’re going to turn it over, and I’m going to continue to be the mayor of the City of New York.”
Teams of FBI agents simultaneously showed up at Wright’s home in Harlem and Banks’ home in Hollis, Queens around 5 a.m. on Sept. 4, as first reported by the news site THE CITY and subsequently multiple other outlets. The agents reportedly seized Wright’s and Banks’ electronic devices — including cell phones and laptops.
Wright shares a home with Schools Chancellor David Banks, who is also Phil Banks’ brother. In a statement, the Schools Chancellor said he is also “cooperating” with the federal probe.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban also had his electronics, including his cellphone, seized by the feds, according to police sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Federal authorities also reportedly took electronics from several other top NYPD officials.
Additionally, Tim Pearson — another one of Adams’ top advisers, also had his devices seized, the Daily News reported. Adams has repeatedly defended Pearson, a retired NYPD inspector, who has been sued multiple times for sexual harassment and retaliation.
Reports indicate the home of the third Banks borther—Terrance Banks—was also targeted by federal investigators this week.
City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg, in a statement, did not directly address the raids but said that “investigators have not indicated to us the mayor or his staff are targets of any investigation.”
“As a former member of law enforcement, the mayor has repeatedly made clear that all team members need to follow the law,” she added.
An NYPD spokesperson said “the department is aware of an investigation by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York involving members of service. The department is fully cooperating in the investigation.”
A spokesperson for New York’s FBI field office declined to comment.
According to the reports, the reason for the raids was not immediately clear. However, a source familiar with the matter said it does not seem to be related to the federal investigation into the mayor’s 2021 campaign over its dealings with the Turkish government.
To date, Wright and Banks are the two highest-ranking officials in Adams’ orbit to have their homes searched by the feds — but they are hardly the first.
Feds raided the homes of Adams’ former chief campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs and City Hall aide Rana Abasova last November as part of an investigation by the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office into whether the mayor’s 2021 campaign colluded with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations. The mayor also had his own phones and an iPad seized by federal agents just days after the other raids last year.
Additionally, FBI agents raided the two Bronx homes of Adams aide Winnie Greco in February—an action reportedly connected to a separate federal probe led by the US Attorney’s office in Brooklyn.
Neither Mayor Adams nor his associates have been charged with a crime concerning the probes.
The latest raids follow news late last month that federal investigators had subpoenaed Adams, City Hall, and his 2021 campaign for information, including text messages and other materials, in connection with the corruption probe into his campaign.
Former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, one of the mayor’s challengers in the 2025 mayor’s race, wasted no time in using the latest raids as ammunition against the current mayor in a Thursday afternoon X post.
“Eric Adams ran on curbing chaos and disorder, yet there is nothing more chaotic than a mayor distracted by his inner circle getting raided by the feds,” Stringer wrote. “You can’t clean up this city’s problems when your own house is a mess.”
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