FBI raids NYC homes of two top Mayor Adams aides, Sheena Wright and Phil Banks
FBI agents raided the homes of two top aides to Mayor Eric Adams — Phil Banks and Sheena Wright — early Wednesday, law enforcement sources confirmed.
The raids — first reported by The City — unfolded simultaneously about 5 a.m. at Wright’s elegant West 143rd Street home in Harlem and Banks’ Queens home, according to the sources.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment to The Post on Thursday but did not deny that federal agents visited both addresses.
The law enforcement action marks a jaw-dropping escalation in the federal investigations swirling around Adams.
The raids’ precise purpose remained unclear Thursday, but a source with knowledge of the probe said investigators have been trying to flip someone close to Adams, who has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Wright, as the city’s first deputy mayor, is the closest Adams aide to have her home raided by the feds. Banks, a longtime Adams ally, serves as his deputy mayor for public safety.
Adams has now seen federal agents search the properties of five allies, including his top campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs, amid allegations of a kickback scheme involving City Hall and the Turkish government.
A source familiar with the matter told The Post the raids did not appear to be related to the Turkey investigation.
Follow the latest on the FBI raids of Adams administration officials
Hizzoner himself has previously been slapped with a grand jury subpoena, as were City Hall officials and his campaign, in July by federal prosecutors digging into his 2021 election fundraising. He also had his electronic devices seized as part of the investigation.
Adams has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
“Investigators have not indicated to us the mayor or his staff are targets of any investigation,” said City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg, in a statement.
“As a former member of law enforcement, the mayor has repeatedly made clear that all members of the team need to follow the law.”
Representatives for Adams’ campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Wright has been in a longtime relationship with Schools Chancellor David Banks, and they were rumored to have married in secret last year.
Banks is the brother of Phil Banks, who himself was named by the feds as an unindicted co-conspirator in a sweeping federal police corruption case years ago.
David Banks, when spotted Thursday leaving the Harlem home he shares with Wright by The Post, dodged questions about the raid.
Additional reporting by Ben Kochman and Haley Brown
