AFC Financier arrested in U.S on corruption charges

Albert J Baldeo, Khemraj Ramjattan & Raphael Trotman

A Queens district leader and two-time candidate for the City Council surrendered to federal authorities Wednesday morning to face corruption charges, including mail fraud conspiracy and obstruction of justice, stemming from what prosecutors said were campaign finance improprieties.
The district leader is also a close friend of Khemraj Ramjattan, Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC) and one of that party's main overseas financiers. He also hosted several fundraisers in the U.S. in support of the party.

According to a New York Times report, the district leader, Guyanese, Albert J Baldeo, a Democrat, is accused of using phantom donors to funnel illegal campaign contributions to his unsuccessful 2010 campaign for the City Council, to fraudulently increase the amount of matching funds provided by the city, federal prosecutors said. He is being charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, attempted mail fraud, conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and obstruction of justice.
Baldeo, whose district includes Richmond Hill and Ozone Park, surrendered at the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at Federal Plaza shortly after 09:00h.
He is  expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Federal District Court in Manhattan. The charges were announced by the United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, and Mary Galligan, the acting assistant director of the FBI, who heads the bureau’s New York office. Galligan said in the statement that Baldeo’s fraud, according to the government, was fabricating contributions to his campaign to receive six dollars in matching funds for every dollar he reportedly raised.