A scheme to exploit New York City’s public campaign financing program has landed a Filipino American political candidate in federal custody, with prosecutors saying she funneled foreign money through her accounts and misled authorities to claim $1 million in matching funds she was not entitled to receive.
According to an Inquirer.net report, Angela Aquino, 47, a former candidate for New York City Public Advocate, was taken into custody Thursday. Federal prosecutors allege she knew from the outset that her campaign committee did not qualify for the city’s matching funds program — and that she took deliberate steps to manufacture the appearance that it did.
According to court documents, the alleged scheme drew on more than $130,000 transferred from the Philippines into Aquino’s personal bank account in early 2025. She and her co-conspirators then reportedly moved that money into her campaign account through cash withdrawals and deposits, submitting contribution cards with fabricated information to make the funds appear to come from New York City residents.
To meet the program’s enrollment threshold — at least $125,000 raised from a minimum of 500 qualifying contributors — prosecutors say Aquino cycled money between accounts to artificially inflate the deposit count. She also allegedly diverted campaign funds for personal use, including rent payments, while misrepresenting those expenditures to the Campaign Finance Board.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. said the bureau would continue to “hold accountable corrupt political candidates who try to buy the public’s support.”
US Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. for the Eastern District of New York described the conduct as a “brazen scheme to obtain fraudulently $1 million in public funds, exploiting a matching funds program designed to reduce corruption in the city’s campaign finance system,” adding that his office would “aggressively hold accountable would-be public officials out to steal taxpayer dollars.”
Aquino faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the charges.
