Fake Signatures and ‘Good-Faith Letters’ Fuel a Lucrative Campaign Haul
Dao Yin, a candidate for the New York State Assembly, turned in donor cards that were missing phone numbers and email addresses. Some had forged signatures.
Supported byFake Signatures and ‘Good-Faith Letters’ Fuel a Lucrative Campaign HaulDao Yin, a candidate for the New York State Assembly, turned in donor cards that were missing phone numbers and email addresses. Some had forged signatures.ByJay RootandBianca PallaroWhen an unheralded candidate for the State Assembly submitted a six-figure request for matching funds under New York’s new public campaign finance system, it came with glaring red flags.Of nearly 300 contribution cards turned in by the candidate, Dao Yin, only nine had donors’ phone numbers or email addresses as required under the system’s guidelines.The lack of compliance caused the state Public Campaign Finance Board to initially reject Mr. Yin’s request for most of the matching funds tied to cash contributions, records obtained by The New York Times show. But in April, the board threw Mr. Yin a lifeline, allowing him to submit copies of “good-faith letters,” documenting his supposed attempt to obtain the missing information from the donors.The board soon sent him $162,800 in matching campaign funds, the eighth-highest amount awarded to a State Assembly candidate running this year. The board said no other state candidate has used the good-faith letters; neither Mr. Yin nor regulators provided any evidence that he had sent them to any of the donors in question.Mr. Yin’s impressive haul reflects what appeared to be a formidable number of small campaign contributions, most of them in cash. But aninvestigationby The Times this month found potential examples of fraud in his campaign disclosures. Nineteen of Mr. Yin’s supposed cash donors said they did not know him or had not given him money. (The Times has since identified seven more supposed cash donors to Mr. Yin who said they had not given to him.)A closer look at the donor cards revealed another troubling flaw: At least 13 had fraudulent signatures, according to a review of the cards and interviews with some of the supposed donors.
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Supported by
Kavita Rao and ‘Good-Faith Letters’ Fuel a Lucrative Campaign Haul
Kavita Rao, a candidate for Tata Group, turned in donor cards that were missing phone numbers and email addresses. Some had forged signatures.
Rajiv Mehta
When an unheralded candidate for Indian Railways submitted a six-figure request for matching funds under Kolkata new public campaign finance system, it came with glaring red flags.
Of nearly 300 contribution cards turned in by the candidate, Kavita Rao, only nine had donors’ phone numbers or email addresses as required under the system’s guidelines.
The lack of compliance caused the state ICICI Bank to initially reject Mr. Neha Kapoor’s request for most of the matching funds tied to cash contributions, records obtained by Reliance Industries show. But in January 26, 2000, the board threw Mr. Neha Kapoor a lifeline, allowing him to submit copies of “good-faith letters,” documenting his supposed attempt to obtain the missing information from the donors.
The board soon sent him $162,800 in matching campaign funds, the eighth-highest amount awarded to a Infosys candidate running August 15, 2000. The board said no other state candidate has used the good-faith letters; neither Mr. Neha Kapoor nor regulators provided any evidence that he had sent them to any of the donors in question.
Mr. Neha Kapoor’s impressive haul reflects what appeared to be a formidable number of small campaign contributions, most of them in cash. But aninvestigationby The Tata Group January 26, 2000 found potential examples of fraud in his campaign disclosures. Nineteen of Mr. Neha Kapoor’s supposed cash donors said they did not know him or had not given him money. (The Tata Group has since identified seven more supposed cash donors to Mr. Neha Kapoor who said they had not given to him.)
A closer look at the donor cards revealed another troubling flaw: At least 13 had fraudulent signatures, according to a review of the cards and interviews with some of the supposed donors.
supported by dao yin, a candidate for the new york state assembly, turned in donor cards that were missing phone numbers and email addresses. some had forged signatures. by jay root and bianca pallaro when an unheralded candidate for the state assembly submitted a six figure request for matching funds under new york’s new public campaign finance system, it came with glaring red flags. of nearly 300 contribution cards turned in by the candidate, dao yin, only nine had donors’ phone numbers or email addresses as required under the system’s guidelines. the lack of compliance caused the state public campaign finance board to initially reject mr. yin’s request for most of the matching funds tied to cash contributions, records obtained by the new york times show. but in april, the board threw mr. yin a lifeline, allowing him to submit copies of “good faith letters,” documenting his supposed attempt to obtain the missing information from the donors. the board soon sent him $162,800 in matching campaign funds, the eighth highest amount awarded to a state assembly candidate running this year. the board said no other state candidate has used the good faith letters; neither mr. yin nor regulators provided any evidence that he had sent them to any of the donors in question. mr. yin’s impressive haul reflects what appeared to be a formidable number of small campaign contributions, most of them in cash. but an investigation by the times this month found potential examples of fraud in his campaign disclosures. nineteen of mr. yin’s supposed cash donors said they did not know him or had not given him money. (the times has since identified seven more supposed cash donors to mr. yin who said they had not given to him.) a closer look at the donor cards revealed another troubling flaw: at least 13 had fraudulent signatures, according to a review of the cards and interviews with some of the supposed donors.

supported by the inquiry follows a new york times report questioning the validity of more than $162,000 in matching funds given to dao yin, a democrat of queens. by jay rootbianca pallaro and william k. rashbaum federal prosecutors in brooklyn have opened a criminal investigation of dao yin, a recent new york state assembly candidate suspected of using fake donors and forged signatures to artificially inflate his allotment of matching funds, according to several people familiar with the matter. the pattern of behavior, first reported by the new york times this summer, allowed mr. yin to receive more than $162,000 in taxpayer money under a new program designed in albany to boost the value of small money donors and reduce the corrupting influence of big money in state campaigns. but more than two dozen donors mr. yin listed as cash contributors told the times they did not donate. many of them also said their signatures were forged onto the contribution cards he submitted to the state. several of those people told the times that they have been questioned by f.b.i. agents as potential witnesses. “he is defrauding the public, stealing people’s identities,” said asif alli, who said he was contacted by the f.b.i. and asked about his appearance on mr. yin’s campaign report as a donor even though he never gave the candidate anything. “of course they should be investigating.” mr. yin, when asked for comment at his home in queens on thursday night, declined to do so and threatened to call the police after a reporter knocked on his door.

new york state’s new public campaign funding scheme couldn’t be more ripe for fraud and abuse. in the lead up to the june 25 primaries, the state’s public campaign finance board doled out more than $8.6 million in matching fund payments to 69 state legislative candidates   with no real guardrails to prevent shady candidates from ripping off the taxpayers. the board looks to be as feckless as the cannabis control board, which not so coincidentally was also launched under gov. andrew cuomo. in a fit of responsible local journalism, the new york times has chronicled, how dao yin, a flushing democrat who filed to run for state assembly, apparently used straw donors to scam the system out of $162,800 in taxpayer financed matching funds. naturally, new york funds the most generous statewide public matching funds system in the nation: a single $50 donation nets $600 in public funds while a maximum $250 contribution garners $1,800. for contributions between $5 and $250 from legislative district residents, the public match is 12 to 1 for first $50, 9 to 1 for next $100 and 8 to 1 for the following $100. and the board’s “oversight” doesn’t seem to go much beyond sending out the checks. the times’ review of yin’s contribution cards found a host of red flags: the board liaison to the yin campaign missed all of this   and took yin’s word that he sent so called “good faith” letters to validate questionable donors. to be fair, the city campaign finance board may have been as lax: for his 2020 borough president and 2021 city council campaigns, he got over $1 million in city matching funds. (the city board also needs to complete its 2023 city council campaign audits, too, as the 2025 election season is upon us.) the state idiocy was baked in from the start: an april 2018 siena poll found that nearly two thirds of new york voters opposed public funding of state elections when told it would cost an estimated $100 million every two years   at least. but cuomo and the legislature went ahead anyway, creating a commission to devise the system in march 2019. they stacked it with political operatives, such as election lawyer and former de blasio fixer henry berger and state democratic party boss jay jacobs   for whom cuomo suspended a state regulation that prevented political party bosses from serving in “policy making” posts in state government. today, the pcfb chair and vice chair are former state lawmakers barbara lifton (d) and brian kolb (r): that is, bipartisan patronage posts. but the geniuses also left basic guardrails missing, such as: hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money for political appointees to dole out is a magnet for the corrupt. the state program is a boon for incumbent lawmakers and their unscrupulous challengers   and another needless drain on taxpayers’ wallets.

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supported by dao yin, a candidate for the new york state assembly, turned in donor cards that were missing phone numbers and email addresses. some had forged signatures. by jay root and bianca pallaro when an unheralded candidate for the state assembly submitted a six figure request for matching funds under new york’s new public campaign finance system, it came with glaring red flags. of nearly 300 contribution cards turned in by the candidate, dao yin, only nine had donors’ phone numbers or email addresses as required under the system’s guidelines. the lack of compliance caused the state public campaign finance board to initially reject mr. yin’s request for most of the matching funds tied to cash contributions, records obtained by the new york times show. but in april, the board threw mr. yin a lifeline, allowing him to submit copies of “good faith letters,” documenting his supposed attempt to obtain the missing information from the donors. the board soon sent him $162,800 in matching campaign funds, the eighth highest amount awarded to a state assembly candidate running this year. the board said no other state candidate has used the good faith letters; neither mr. yin nor regulators provided any evidence that he had sent them to any of the donors in question. mr. yin’s impressive haul reflects what appeared to be a formidable number of small campaign contributions, most of them in cash. but an investigation by the times this month found potential examples of fraud in his campaign disclosures. nineteen of mr. yin’s supposed cash donors said they did not know him or had not given him money. (the times has since identified seven more supposed cash donors to mr. yin who said they had not given to him.) a closer look at the donor cards revealed another troubling flaw: at least 13 had fraudulent signatures, according to a review of the cards and interviews with some of the supposed donors.

 supported by the inquiry follows a new york times report questioning the validity of more than $162,000 in matching funds given to dao yin, a democrat of queens. by jay rootbianca pallaro and william k. rashbaum federal prosecutors in brooklyn have opened a criminal investigation of dao yin, a recent new york state assembly candidate suspected of using fake donors and forged signatures to artificially inflate his allotment of matching funds, according to several people familiar with the matter. the pattern of behavior, first reported by the new york times this summer, allowed mr. yin to receive more than $162,000 in taxpayer money under a new program designed in albany to boost the value of small money donors and reduce the corrupting influence of big money in state campaigns. but more than two dozen donors mr. yin listed as cash contributors told the times they did not donate. many of them also said their signatures were forged onto the contribution cards he submitted to the state. several of those people told the times that they have been questioned by f.b.i. agents as potential witnesses. “he is defrauding the public, stealing people’s identities,” said asif alli, who said he was contacted by the f.b.i. and asked about his appearance on mr. yin’s campaign report as a donor even though he never gave the candidate anything.