The long-running corruption inquiry is focused on Carone’s business dealings and actions during his tenure in City Hall, where he served during Adams’s first year in office. Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and federal investigators have been scrutinizing Carone at least since early 2024. While the full scope of the investigation and the potential for any charges remain unclear, grand jury subpoenas were issued in May 2024 to several clients of Carone’s consulting and lobbying firm, Oaktree Solutions. Carone founded the firm in January 2023 after stepping down from his City Hall post.
Carone, a lawyer and former counsel to the Brooklyn Democratic Party, has been a close associate of Eric Adams for years. He played a central role in Adams’s 2021 mayoral campaign and was influential throughout the incoming administration. “Anyone and everyone who actually knows me and has worked alongside me would say that I am conscientious and principled in how I comport myself and all that I do,” Carone said in a statement. He denied any wrongdoing and attributed the investigation to “political associations, jealousy over his success and stereotypical assumptions” about his Italian American heritage and Brooklyn background. “Baseless accusations are nothing new to me,” he added.
The subpoenas targeting Oaktree Solutions clients came after investigators obtained bank records for the firm, according to several individuals familiar with the matter. Those clients, some operating in real estate and other industries, were instructed to provide information to a grand jury. Later in 2024, prosecutors appeared to turn their focus toward real estate partnerships and other financial arrangements involving Carone.
Though Carone had not previously appeared to be in legal jeopardy while others close to Adams faced investigations, his name has surfaced in unrelated legal disputes. Carone formerly worked at Abrams Fensterman, a law firm also tied to individuals involved in what the insurance company Geico has characterized as extensive fraud operations. In multiple federal lawsuits, Geico alleged the firm and Carone’s associates were linked to schemes involving fabricated and unnecessary health-care claims routed through fake providers and laundered funds.
Neither Carone nor Abrams Fensterman has been charged with any crimes or formally accused in civil proceedings related to those fraud cases. Instead, they have maintained they were unaware of any fraudulent conduct and were themselves misled. A spokesman for Abrams Fensterman, Todd Shapiro, stated that the firm "at all times acted ethically, lawfully and in full compliance with New York’s legal and ethical standards." He added that the firm alerted the Brooklyn district attorney’s office to suspected fraud, offered information to prosecutors, and filed civil lawsuits to recover misappropriated funds.
Geico’s court filings described funding companies created by Carone and his associates, which advanced money to supposed medical providers in exchange for the rights to collect on their no-fault insurance claims. According to the insurer, some funds never reached doctors and were instead diverted through other channels, including a jeweler, to pay illegal kickbacks. Carone’s associated entities have settled some of Geico’s civil suits.
Carone’s ongoing investigation is unfolding amid a broader legal storm surrounding Eric Adams and many in his former administration. The former mayor, who was himself indicted on federal corruption charges before the case was dropped, has seen numerous aides targeted by various law enforcement agencies. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, his former chief adviser, was charged with bribery and related offenses by the Manhattan district attorney. The city’s former buildings commissioner faces a separate state corruption case. Adams’s schools chancellor, deputy mayor for public safety, first deputy mayor, two former police commissioners, and his top political fundraiser have drawn interest from federal investigators.
When Adams was first elected in 2021, Carone’s firm was hired by the campaign, and Adams held campaign events via Zoom from Carone’s office. Upon Adams’s swearing-in as mayor in 2022, he appointed Carone as chief of staff.
After Adams was indicted on allegations of accepting bribes, unlawfully soliciting contributions from foreign nationals, and using straw donors, Carone played a behind-the-scenes role in trying to help Adams reach out to President Trump, who was beginning a second presidential term. The Trump administration later dropped the indictment, citing a need for Adams’s cooperation in enforcing immigration policy. In dismissing the charges, U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho wrote, “Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions.” Adams declared the dismissal as vindication.
Following his departure from City Hall, Carone transitioned to campaign leadership, serving as chairman of Adams’s 2025 re-election bid. During that time, he attempted to engineer a deal in which Adams would exit the race in return for an ambassadorship to Saudi Arabia. The negotiations fell apart, and Adams ended his campaign without taking any post in the Trump administration.
Since leaving office, Adams has partnered with Carone in business ventures, including an effort to launch a New York City-themed cryptocurrency. That project has faced difficulties, with both men attempting to keep the business afloat amid accusations that they may have misled investors.