(NEW YORK) — Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the former chief adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, surrendered at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on Thursday morning to face criminal charges.
The exact charges against her are expected to to be announced later Thursday.
Lewis-Martin resigned from her position on Sunday.
The case against her stems from an ongoing investigation by the district attorney’s office and the city’s Department of Investigation, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The case is separate from federal charges against Adams, the sources said. Adams, who has denied any wrongdoing, is facing corruption charges over allegedly accepting years of luxury travel gifts in exchange for, among other things, persuading the fire department to approve the opening of the new Turkish consulate in Manhattan despite the lingering safety concerns of inspectors.
Lewis-Martin’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, said Monday that he expected her to be indicted in connection to allegedly improper gifts, according to WABC.
“Pieces of puzzles are going to be put together to make it look as horrible as possible,” Aidala, sitting alongside Lewis-Martin, told reporters Monday. “But we know the truth, and the truth is Ingrid Lewis-Martin never broke the law.”
She and her son, Glenn Martin II, reported to the courthouse in lower Manhattan early Thursday. Two other men are also facing charges, WABC reported.
The two men allegedly loaned Glenn Martin II $100,000 so he could buy a Porsche after Lewis-Martin had allegedly assisted the men with a problem with the Buildings Department relating to a hotel construction project, according to WABC.
“I am being falsely accused of something,” Lewis-Martin told reporters Monday. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know that I was told that it is something that is illegal, and I have never done anything that is illegal in my capacity in government.”
Lewis-Martin had her cellphone seized in September when she returned from a trip to Japan and also had her home in Brooklyn searched.
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