May 2022 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

Elon Musk Calls ESG Metrics a 'Scam'
by Gunnar Larson 19 May '22

19 May '22

Elon Musk Calls ESG Metrics a 'Scam' https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2022-05-18/elon-musk-calls-esg-metric…

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Goldman, JPMorgan Could Get $133 Million for Advising Twitter on Musk Deal
by Gunnar Larson 19 May '22

19 May '22

Goldman, JPMorgan Could Get $133 Million for Advising Twitter on Musk Deal https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-17/goldman-jpmorgan-could-g…

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Karl real identity
by zeynep＠keemail.me 19 May '22

19 May '22

Does this area look familiar to you, the idiot who said his name was Karl? Besides, you've always sent private messages to the group, but you didn't send these mails to them when it came to you.Why?You're telling too many lies, and it is going to stop You said you were against the Grarpamp in the private e-mail you sent me. But you didn't send that email here.I could have told you the truth about you, and I didn't do it. I care about privacy and high ethical morality. I hate Rat,but when I shared him,he was more honest than you.At least we know he's a jerk, he's just making his stupid propaganda. He's harmless because he's crazy. But you're more damaging than all of them. You can deceive anyone... but me.Never

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Senate #2 Joins Mounting Opposition to Hochul’s Pick for Top Financial Regulator
by Gunnar Larson 19 May '22

19 May '22

Senate #2 Joins Mounting Opposition to Hochul’s Pick for Top Financial Regulator Two months ago, Obama-era Treasury Department official Adrienne Harris joined the board of LendingClub, a scandal-plagued <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/technology/lendingclub-renaud-laplanche-…> online lending company. It was the latest of well over a dozen past and present positions Harris has held at financial technology (“fintech”) firms or related companies, many headquartered in New York. Two weeks ago, Governor Kathy Hochul nominated her to be New York’s top financial watchdog, charged with regulating those same firms. The state Senate won’t vote on the nomination until it reconvenes in January, but it has already provoked significant consternation among some Democrats in the chamber—including Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), who told New York Focus that he will vote against Harris’ confirmation. “What we need is someone to oversee the industry that actually has interest in overseeing the industry. I don’t believe that Adrienne Harris is that person,” Gianaris said. But supporters point to Harris’ experience advising the Obama Administration on fintech policy as a qualification for the role, along with the expertise on the industry she has developed from the inside. “The opposition to her is just a knee-jerk reaction against anybody from the private sector, and I think it’s wrong,” said Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a business consortium. New York Focus sent repeated questions to both Hochul and Harris about whether Harris will remain on fintech boards if confirmed, how much she has earned from board memberships and consulting jobs with fintech firms, and what guardrails would be established to avoid conflicts of interest with regards to specific companies she has worked for. Neither Hochul nor Harris responded. The contact form on Harris’ personal website <http://adrienneaharris.com/> was removed shortly after New York Focus used it to request comment. “Go forth, free market” New York’s Department of Financial Services, the agency that Harris would lead, regulates over 3,200 financial institutions controlling more than $8.4 trillion. Its purview <https://www.dfs.ny.gov/institution_definition> includes chartering banks and regulating check cashers, mortgage issuers, life insurance companies, and credit unions. “The person who runs NYDFS is the bulwark between consumers and sharks. And the shark’s expert is unlikely to act as aggressively to protect the consumer minnows,” Jeff Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project, a progressive group that advocates against conflicts of interest in government, told New York Focus. In the fintech realm, the DFS issues regulations that protect consumers’ data rights, shield them from onerous fees, and ensure that interest rates on loans do not exceed the state’s statutory maximum of 25%, meant to ward off exploitative payday lenders. (It also licenses cryptocurrencies, another growing area in the industry.) Fees have been a particular issue <https://newrepublic.com/article/161488/fintech-industry-wants-give-desperat…> for many fintech companies in recent years—including firms that Harris advises. In 2019, the DFS subpoenaed <https://nypost.com/2019/03/28/cash-advance-app-earnin-gets-subpoenaed-by-ny…> small-loan fintech company Brigit, which Harris’ LinkedIn lists her as a current advisor of, over concerns that the effective interest rates on its loans exceeded New York’s 25% cap. Max Moran, a researcher at the Revolving Door Project who co-wrote an op-ed <https://prospect.org/economy/fintech-fox-in-the-regulatory-henhouse-adrienn…> in the American Prospect last week sounding the alarm on Harris’ nomination, pointed to signs that Harris could take a hands-off approach to policing fintech interest rates and fees. “There are many services that are part of the financial technology companies that Adrienne Harris has advised that offer payday loan adjacent type products,” Moran said. “Harris is someone who is very strongly inclined towards not treating products like that as a payday loan.” Moran cited Harris’ comments last year at an event <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxOOIDG59fk> hosted by the University of Michigan’s business school. “The way we tend to regulate financial services, and most industries in the United States, is—and I always took a little bit of an issue with this—it’s sort of like the list of no-no’s,” Harris said. “It’s like ‘Go forth, free market, but here are the list of no-no’s.” An extensive resume Since leaving the Obama administration, Harris has amassed an extensive resume of board memberships and advisory positions at numerous fintech companies, including the Financial Health Network, Liquidly, Nova Credit, Homie, BOND.AI, Brigit, and Carver Edison. In 2020, Harris became an advisor to NYCA Partners, a New York-based venture capital firm that primarily invests in fintech companies, including Brigit. (If Harris is confirmed as Superintendant, it won’t be the first instance of a revolving door between the firm and the agency: in July 2021, NYCA Partners hired DFS’ chief fintech regulator, Matt Homer, as its “executive in residence <https://www.reuters.com/technology/fintech-investor-nyca-partners-snaps-up-…> .”) Just seven weeks before the DFS nomination, Harris joined the board of LendingClub, which offers loans to individuals dealing with credit card debt. The day before she joined the board, LendingClub agreed to pay $18 <https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/07/lendingclub-agrees-p…> million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it had falsely advertised “no hidden fees” loans that did indeed have fees attached and taken money from customers’ bank accounts without authorization. In 2016, the firm paid over $4 million to the SEC as a penalty for improprieties under its former CEO, who paid an additional $200,000 to settle charges of fraud. “LendingClub continues to innovate on behalf of consumers, and I look forward to applying my expertise as the company reimagines retail banking to help its customers on a path towards financial success with fairness, simplicity and heart,” Harris said in a statement <https://ir.lendingclub.com/news/news-details/2021/LendingClub-Appoints-Adri…> accompanying the announcement of her joining the board. Harris has also served on the board of the Alliance for Innovation in Regulation, a lobbying group that seeks to remove regulatory obstacles <https://www.rollcall.com/2020/03/10/former-official-seeks-to-root-out-finte…> to financial technology companies. As of Tuesday, her profile appeared to have been removed from Alliance’s website, but was available in an archived version <https://web.archive.org/web/20210414081544/https://regulationinnovation.org…> from earlier this year. (The Alliance did not immediately respond to a question about whether Harris still serves on its board.) A previous version <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FspoXIVq8cgJu2x2J245a3YrdrBnVab8/view?usp=…> of Harris’ personal website, accessible until last week, offered paid consultations for companies looking to “future-proof” operations with the help of Harris’ “regulatory intelligence” and “political expertise.” The current version contains only a resume and a quote praising her qualifications to lead DFS. Critics say that Harris’ nomination is the latest in a string of attempts by the fintech industry to capture regulatory agencies. “The financial technology industry is very well known for trying to get people into high positions as regulators, where they can deregulate,” said Sarah Ludwig, co-director of the New Economy Project. “The playbook is…to try to get state regulators to put a freeze on regulating so they can ‘innovate.’” On the federal level, good government groups have managed to prevent conflicts of interest in the Biden Administration, Hauser said. The Revolving Door Project helped block the appointment <https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/fintech-loves-this-rumored-biden-nominee…> of Michael Barr, a fintech executive who has worked closely <https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3422860> with Harris, to a key financial regulatory position in the Biden Administration—and had begun compiling research on Harris herself when her name was floated for a senior role in the same office. But they’ve had less success on the state level—like in California, where the recent top financial regulator <https://therevolvingdoorproject.org/revolver-spotlight-manny-alvarez/> was a former fintech executive. “This is what we’ve been fearing at the federal level and so far largely avoided,” Hauser said. “Back to the Cuomo playbook” Though the vote on her confirmation may not occur for months, Harris’ nomination is already threatening to sour Hochul’s relationship with New York’s progressives, with whom Hochul, a longtime political moderate <https://www.nysfocus.com/2021/08/11/who-is-kathy-hochul-next-governor/>, had been enjoying something of a honeymoon period. “She’s trying to figure out how to maximize her ability to raise money,” Assemblymember Ron Kim (D-Queens) told New York Focus, referring to Hochul. “She’s going back to the Cuomo playbook…go to fintech, go to Wall Street, and do whatever they ask you to do, because that’s how you raise the most money in the shortest period of time.” Senator Jabari Brisport (D-Brooklyn) said that Harris’ appointment “would be akin to giving predatory financial tech companies free rein in New York,” and Senators Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn) and Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx) said they would vote against it. But other legislators are supporting Harris—including Insurance Committee Chair Sen. Neil Breslin (D-Albany), who told <https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2021/09/backlash-grows-over-hochul-…> City & State that she “has much better credentials than either of her two predecessors.” And Sen. George Borello (R-Allegany), the ranking member of the Banks Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, told New York Focus that “Ms. Harris’ impressive background in both the private and public sectors is encouraging and suggests that she has the expertise and perspective to lead DFS with the right balance of pragmatism and vision.” The appointment has added to previous concerns about conflicts of interest in the Hochul administration. Karen Persichilli Keogh, Hochul’s top aide, is married to a partner in major Albany lobbying firm Bolton-St. Johns, the New York Times reported <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/nyregion/kathy-hochul-staff.html>. And Hochul’s husband is general counsel and senior vice president of the Buffalo-based casino and hospitality company Delaware North, which has tens of millions of dollars <https://therealdeal.com/2021/08/11/hochul-has-conflict-with-husbands-casino…> of contracts with New York State that will expire during Hochul’s term. Hochul and Keogh have promised to recuse themselves from any decisions implicating their spouses’ employers. Michael Kink, executive director of the labor-backed Strong Economy for All Coalition, a progressive advocacy group, suggested that Harris’ nomination could affect Hochul’s reelection prospects. “A lot of voters will be looking at Hochul’s prior close connections to Cuomo and his big money backers, and judging her to see if she’s really in any way different,” he said.

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Adrienne Harris Is Crypto's Most Powerful Regulator
by Gunnar Larson 19 May '22

19 May '22

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/adrienne-harris-is-cryptos-most-pow…

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PayPal Participates in Inaugural White House FinTech Summit
by Gunnar Larson 19 May '22

19 May '22

PayPal Participates in Inaugural White House FinTech Summit https://publicpolicy.paypal-corp.com/news/paypal-participates-inaugural-whi… On June 10th, [ June 15, 2016 ] the White House hosted its first FinTech Summit to examine the changing landscape of financial services, illustrate the nexus between FinTech and Administration priorities, and discuss future policy development. Adrienne Harris, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, hosted the event. Specific panel sessions were chaired by Penny Pritzker, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce; Jason Furman, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors; and Gayle Smith, Administrator of the US Agency for International Development. Over 250 stakeholders also attended the event from financial institutions, start-ups, academia, and policymaking bodies. PayPal’s VP of Corporate Affairs, Franz Paasche, participated in an afternoon panel entitled, “Filling the Gaps: FinTech’s Role in Financial Inclusion & Development”, moderated by Gayle Smith. Other panelists included Vikas Raj (Accion Venture Lab), Ryan Falvey (Center for Financial Services Innovation Financial Solutions Lab), Greta Bull (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), and Jo Ann Barefoot (Harvard Kennedy School). The goal of the panel was to discuss the millions of people globally that do not have access to basic financial services. The discussion highlighted innovations that promote access to identification required to participate in the financial system, relevant and safe products that are administered responsibly, as well as affordability and consumer choice for these products. PayPal’s contribution focused on the ways that technology is working to address these issues for consumers, businesses and our society at large. The panel addressed the potential opportunity for FinTech to make a difference for the financial health of those underserved by the global financial system. In addition, opportunities created by the global flows of money and products through Cross-border digital payments system, like PayPal and Xoom, were discussed as ways to help families easily, quickly and affordably send remittances back home to relatives and friends, often in emerging countries. Small business lending was another area that was highlighted for its development opportunities. PayPal’s Working Capital program in particular was discussed as filling the gap in access to capital <http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/inov_a_00239> and credit for small business owners, which was left in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. PayPal’s contribution to the panel also focused on the need for partnership and collaboration to bring financial participation and financial health at scale to the billions who don’t have access to financial services or are not able to participate. To address this challenge at scale globally, the private sector, governments, and non-governmental institutions and non-profits will need to work together. PayPal is working to extend its impact on advancing financial participation and health by collaborating with two non-profits, Village Capital and Kiva. PayPal and Village Capital are directly supporting 40 promising entrepreneurs <http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160308005583/en/Village-Capital-Pay…> in Latin America, India, and the US, who have technology-based solutions to many of these financial participation challenges. Kiva has crowdsourced nearly $861 million in increments as little as $25 for 2 million entrepreneurs in 84 countries – with every single Kiva loan <https://www.paypal.com/stories/us/paypal-and-kiva-celebrate-entrepreneurs-i…> processed by PayPal. The panel provided fruitful discussion on the opportunities FinTech presents, the issues that currently prevent people from achieving financial health globally, and the potential of innovation and technology to improve people’s lives. PayPal’s goal is to improve the way people manage and move their money through technology; this summit provided an opportunity for PayPal to feature our mission as well as the products and services we have produced to deliver on that mission.

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Musk, Twitter sued by Florida pension fund over $44bn takeover
by Gunnar Larson 19 May '22

19 May '22

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/6/musk-twitter-sued-by-florida-pen… The Orlando Police Pension Fund argues the deal can’t close before 2025 because Musk was an ‘interested shareholder’ in the social networking platform. Elon Musk’s $44 billion buyout of Twitter Inc. was challenged in a lawsuit by a Florida pension fund that argues the deal can’t close before 2025 because Musk was an “interested shareholder” in the social networking platform. The Orlando Police Pension Fund filed suit in Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday. According to the complaint, Musk had agreements with other major Twitter shareholders — including founder Jack Dorsey — to rely on their holdings when offering to take the company private last month. Those arrangements triggered a Delaware law that calls for a three-year delay in closing such deals, the fund claims. KEEP READINGlist of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Nvidia pays $5.5m SEC fine over crypto-mining disclosures <https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/6/nvidia-pays-5-5m-us-fine-over-cr…>list 2 of 4UK pushes tough tech rules under new digital watchdog <https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/6/uk-pushes-tough-tech-rules-under…>list 3 of 4S&P 500 suffers longest weekly losing streak since 2011 <https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/6/us-stocks-fall-as-jobs-data-adds…>list 4 of 4SpaceX capsule brings four astronauts home from six-month mission <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/6/spacex-capsule-brings-four-astronau…>end of list Musk’s Twitter acquisition features one of the biggest leveraged buyout deals in history. He’s taking private a 16-year-old social networking platform that has become a hub of public discourse and a flashpoint in the debate over online free speech. Musk disclosed Thursday a group of investors were kicking in more than $7 billion of equity towards the deal. They include Oracle Corp. billionaire Larry Ellison, venture-capital firm Sequoia Capital and cryptocurrency exchange Binance Holdings Ltd. A representative for Musk didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment on the pension fund’s suit. Musk, 50, has outlined financing for the deal that includes $13 billion in bank loans secured by the social-media company and $12.5 billion backed by a pledge of some of his $170 billion Tesla Inc. stake. He’s currently the world’s richest individual, with a fortune valued at more than $249 billion. The pension fund’s lawyers note Musk owned about 10% of Twitter’s shares when he made his buyout offer. The also say in the complaint that he had an “agreement, arrangement or understanding” with other major Twitter investors, such as Dorsey and investment bank Morgan Stanley. Those pacts allowed Musk to rely on their shares and support for the deal, according to the suit. Under Delaware corporate law, those agreements make Musk an “interested shareholder” who has to wait three years to close the deal or win the support of investors who control “at least 66 2/3% of Twitter’s outstanding voting stock” and were independent from the billionaire, the suit said. The fund is asking a Delaware judge to find that Musk meets the test for an “interested shareholder” and is subject to the law, according to the complaint. The case is Orlando Police Pension Fund v. Twitter Inc, No. 2022-0396, Delaware Chancery Court. (Updates with details from suit starting in fifth paragraph) SOURCE: BLOOMBERG <https://www.bloomberg.com/> Sign up for Al Jazeera Americas Coverage Newsletter US politics, Canada’s multiculturalism, South America's geopolitical rise—we bring you the stories that matter. Sign up By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy <https://privacy.aljazeera.net/> ------------------------------ ADVERTISEMENT This content is created and paid for by advertisers and does not involve Al Jazeera journalists. <https://www.dianomi.com/whats-this/?utm_source=pub.Aljazeera.com%20%28Frees…> LISTEN TO THESE PODCASTS [image: podcast episode artwork] play From: The TakeWhat will Elon Musk do with Twitter?Elon Musk has more money than anyone else in the world. Sometimes it seems like the SpaceX and Tesla CEO has the most disr... <https://aj.audio/TheTake-397> [image: podcast episode artwork] play From: The TakeRolling back Roe v WadeLast week, the world got a glimpse of what is likely the end of Roe v Wade, the United States Supreme Court decision that'... <https://aj.audio/TheTake-403> [image: podcast episode artwork] play From: The Inside Story PodcastHow can the G5 Sahel force be maintained?Mali is withdrawing from the G5 Sahel joint force fighting armed groups linked to ISIL and Al Qaeda. Despite being a found... <https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/the-inside-story-podcast> RELATED - UK pushes tough tech rules under new digital watchdog <https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/6/uk-pushes-tough-tech-rules-under…> The Digital Markets Unit is aimed at giving consumers more choice online. Published On 6 May 20226 May 2022 [image: Google mobile phone icon] - US sanctions North Korean cryptocurrency mixer Blender <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/6/us-sanctions-north-korean-cryptocur…> The sanctions, imposed by the United States Treasury Department, are the first ever on a digital asset mixing service. Published On 6 May 20226 May 2022 [image: The US Treasury Department building] - Musk gets extra $7bn for Twitter bid from tech heavyweights <https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/5/musk-gets-extra-7-1bn-for-twitte…> Billionaire Elon Musk has strengthened the equity stake of his offer to buy Twitter. Published On 5 May 20225 May 2022 [image: Elon Musk looks at his mobile phone in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S] - Elon Musk asked by UK Parliament to discuss plans to buy Twitter <https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/4/elon-musk-asked-to-discuss-plans…> The Parliament’s digital committee asked the Tesla CEO to give evidence about his proposals ‘in more depth’. Published On 4 May 20224 May 2022 [image: The Twitter application is seen on a digital device] MORE FROM ECONOMY - Paying to get paid: Young Zimbabweans trade money, sex for jobs <https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/5/19/paying-to-get-paid-young-zimba…> [image: A woman waits by her car for clients to buy clothes in central Harare, Friday, July, 18, 2014. [File: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP Photo]] - End of an era: McDonald’s strikes deal to sell Russia restaurants <https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/19/end-of-an-era-mcdonalds-strikes…> [image: McDonald's, which was among the first Western consumer brands to enter Russia in 1990, signalled a new era of optimism in the wake of the Cold War shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall [File: Rudi Blaha/AP Photo]] - US jobless claims climb to highest level since January <https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/19/us-jobless-claims-climb-to-high…> [image: American workers are enjoying historically strong job security two years after the coronavirus pandemic plunged the economy into a short but devastating recession [File: Andrew Kelly/Reuters]] - Not going to fly: Spirit Airlines again rejects JetBlue’s bid <https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/19/not-going-to-fly-spirit-airline…> [image: It was the second rejection of a JetBlue bid by Spirit’s board, which stood by Frontier’s $2.9bn cash-and-stock deal agreed to in February [File: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg]] MOST READ - Erdogan says ‘no’ to Nordic NATO hopefuls amid security concerns <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/18/un-chief-guterres-warns-of-global-…> [image: Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan [File: Yves Herman/Pool/Reuters]] - How the capture of Azov fighters affects the Russia-Ukraine war <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/19/how-the-capture-of-azov-fighters-a…> [image: People take part in a rally called Save Military of Mariupol in front of the Ukrainian president's office in Kyiv on May 3 [File: Sergei Supinsky/AFP]] - Russia suffers series of military, economic, diplomatic defeats <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/19/russia-suffers-a-series-of-militar…> [image: Pro-Russian troops drive armoured vehicles during the Ukraine-Russia conflict near Novoazovsk in the Donetsk Region, Ukraine [Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters]] - Monkeypox: What is the disease and how serious is it? <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/19/monkeypox-what-is-this-disease> [image: An electron microscopic image shows the oval-shaped monkeypox virus particles [File: Reuters]]

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Video: PNC Insights on 401(k) Litigation Trends
by Gunnar Larson 19 May '22

19 May '22

Check out one of my recent articles: https://litigationfinancejournal.com/video-pnc-insights-on-401k-litigation-… The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (PNC) released a new video with insights into class action claims that target fiduciary fund managers. PNC says retirement savings plan fiduciaries risk class action exposure from litigation investors seeking awards for pension fund mismanagement. PNC says <https://www.pnc.com/insights/corporate-institutional/manage-assets/video-dc…> fiduciaries who charge portfolio management fees should diligently file member disclosures. PNC warns that litigation investors may look to challenge decisions made by plan administrators. Plan management expense ratios are a barometer of fund quality and overall fiduciary work product. PNC says that third party investors may look at litigation, if fund managers profit from compliance loopholes at the detriment of pensioner returns. Click here <https://www.pnc.com/insights/corporate-institutional/manage-assets/video-dc…> to watch PNC’s insights on 401(k) class litigation.

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Mayor Eric Adams won’t commit to releasing his tax returns, breaching decades of custom - POLITICO
by Gunnar Larson 19 May '22

19 May '22

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/15/eric-adams-tax-returns-00025541

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Eric Adams Failed to Disclose Stake in Brooklyn Co-op He Says He Gave to a Friend - THE CITY
by Gunnar Larson 19 May '22

19 May '22

https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/6/16/22536241/eric-adams-failed-to-disclose-br…

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