Mayor Adams said Tuesday that Frank Carone, his longtime political confidante, is expected to play a leading role on his reelection campaign just as companies co-founded by him face a fraud lawsuit in Brooklyn Federal Court.
As first reported by the Daily News last week, the civil lawsuit by GEICO alleges that four corporate entities co-founded by Carone helped orchestrate a “money laundering scheme” by bankrolling health care clinics that fraudulently billed the insurance giant for unnecessary medical procedures to the tune of more than $3.5 million. Carone, who served as Adams’ chief of staff in his first year in office, isn’t personally named as a defendant in GEICO’s suit, but the quartet of companies he co-founded are.
Asked about GEICO’s action during a Tuesday briefing at City Hall, Adams said “people hurl accusations at each other” as part of civil lawsuits all the time. The mayor said GEICO’s suit won’t impact his plan to tap Carone for a top post on his 2025 campaign, though.
“Frank has been a supporter … and I look forward to his assistance in the years to come,” he said.
Carone has long been expected to serve as the chairman of Adams’ re-election bid.
After Adams’ briefing, Carone told The News he’s “not concerned about formal titles or defined roles” as it relates to the 2025 campaign.
“Instead, I will do whatever is necessary to win,” he said in a text.
Carone, a politically-connected attorney who has advised Adams for years, is known as a prolific fundraiser. He’s currently soliciting cash for the legal defense trust Adams launched to cover any legal expense he incurs as part of the FBI investigation into his 2021 campaign’s ties to Turkey.
