Former New York Assembly Candidate Charged With Campaign Finance Fraud

The defendant ’submitted forged campaign contribution cards from members of the very community he hoped to represent,' a U.S. attorney said.

The Department of Justice in Washington on March 10, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

A Chinese national allegedly stole about $162,000 in taxpayer money to fund his 2024 campaign for New York state Assembly by defrauding the state’s public campaign matching funds program, federal prosecutors announced on June 13.

Yin Dao, 62, a resident of Queens, New York, was charged with wire fraud, according to a federal complaint, which was unsealed on June 13. He finished third with 5.9 percent of the vote, or 185 ballots, in the Democratic primary for Assembly District 40 on June 25, 2024.