The Coolidge Reagan Foundation (CRF), a campaign finance watchdog group, has criminally referred New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to the Justice Department. The foundation filed two criminal referrals against Mamdani, alleging the Democratic nominee received illegal contributions from foreign donors. Zohran Mamdani, the Democrat nominee for New York City mayor, reportedly faces two criminal referrals accusing his campaign of accepting illegal contributions from foreign donors. pic.twitter.com/10CUY0rN6p — NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) October 29, 2025 Fox News shared more: A review of finance reports earlier this month revealed that Mamdani’s campaign had accepted nearly $13,000 from at least 170 donors from outside the United States, raising questions about his campaign’s financial compliance, as only U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents are permitted to contribute to American political campaigns. “These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors,” Dan Backer, a national campaign finance expert and president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “This was a sustained pattern of foreign money flowing into a New York City mayoral race which is a clear violation of both federal law and New York City campaign finance rules. Mamdani’s campaign was on notice for months that it was accepting illegal foreign contributions, and yet it did nothing meaningful to stop it.” However, the Mamdani campaign said that “31 of the 170 donors have proven their citizenship or legal permanent residence and have been deemed permissible by the Campaign Finance Board, and the remaining 139 have had their donations refunded.” According to The Post Millennial, the foundation sent the criminal referral to Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani criminally referred to DOJ over foreign, illegal donationshttps://t.co/jjUDmtJED2 — The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 29, 2025 The Post Millennial noted: “The law is crystal clear that foreign nationals may not participate in American elections, and that includes making contributions. Yet Mamdani’s campaign repeatedly accepted donations from individuals abroad,” Backer added, and argued “whether through negligence or intent, this conduct undermines the integrity of the democratic process.” The DOJ calls for an investigation into “potential FECA violations” and the Manhattan version cites “possible violations of New York Election Law § 17.152, which makes it a misdemeanor for two or more persons to conspire to promote an election by unlawful means.” CRF Chairman Shaun McCutcheon said, “Every dollar illegally funneled into a campaign from abroad dilutes the voice of lawful American voters. This case must be investigated immediately, and those responsible held accountable.”