NY Congress Hopeful May Have Broken Spending Laws: Report

EAST VILLAGE, NY — A candidate challenging 25-year incumbent Carolyn Maloney to represent New York's 12th Congressional District may have violated election law when he spent campaign funds earmarked for the general election during the primary, the New York Post reported.

Publicly available campaign records seen by Patch show that Suraj Patel, who is going up against Rep. Maloney in the June 26 Democratic primary, raised $1.2 million and spent all but $40,000 on the primary race.

But the Post, citing a a campaign expert, reported that about $200,000 of the cash was intended for the general election and is not legally available for use during the primary under federal election law.

“You can’t use general election donations for the primary campaign,” election lawyer Jerry Goldfeder told the newspaper.

The congressional district includes much of Manhattan's east side and part of Brooklyn and Queens along the East River.

Patel, 34, is a former Obama campaign staffer who is also the president of the Indiana-based Sun Group of Companies, which oversees a network of hotels in 14 states.

Patel’s campaign insists that is complying with, not skirting, election law.

“The campaign is ensuring that primary expenses are covered with primary funds. When we file our next FEC report, that will be clear,” Sam Haass, Patel's campaign manager, told the Post.

“But unlike Congresswoman Maloney, who has taken millions of dollars from Wall Street firms while deregulating them in Congress, Suraj isn’t taking a dime of corporate PAC money.”

Maloney, 72, has held the seat since 1992. Her campaign has raised $1.6 million and still has $793,347 on hand as of June 6, according to the campaign records.

Attempts made by Patch to reach Patel's representatives were not successful Wednesday.

Photo credit: Suraj Patel For Congress