Newsweek Offices In Financial District Raided By Manhattan DA

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — The Manhattan District Attorney's Office visited the Financial District headquarters of Newsweek Media Group on Thursday as part of an investigation into the company's servers. Investigators from the DA's office performed a "technical inspection" of the servers at the Hanover Square building, the company said in a statement.

They also removed 18 inactive servers from the building after spending several hours photographing and gathering information about the devices, Newsweek reported.

The company said the DA's probe has nothing to do with anything any of its outlets have published and pledged to continue cooperating with authorities. Newsweek Media Group owns the eponymous magazine, the International Business Times news site and three other smaller digital publications.

"No information about the company's content, stories, personnel, or sources was given and Newsweek Media Group has been assured that the DA's office that the investigation is not about any content-related issues," the company said in its statement.

The Manhattan DA's office declined to comment.

There's been an active grand jury investigation into the company for at least 17 months, likely related to loans it took out to purchase the servers, sources told Newsweek.

Investigators reportedly told employees the probe wouldn't bring down the company. "Nobody's going to jail," one agent told an employee, according to Newsweek.

Newsweek Media Group was formed in April 2017 from IBT Media, the firm that launched International Business Times and bought Newsweek in 2013. The company has struggled financially in recent years, gutting its editorial staff in 2016.

But the company's chief executive, Dev Pragad, defended its recent progress, telling Newsweek that December brought "the largest audience and revenue numbers in our history."

"We’ve got to keep doing our job as long as we can, and part of that job is reporting this story," Newsweek Editor-in-Chief Bob Roe told reporters Celeste Katz and Josh Saul.

(Lead image: Newsweek Media Group's offices are seen on Hanover Square in the Financial District. Image from Google Maps)