A former New York City Hall official was charged Tuesday with witness tampering and destruction of evidence, according to federal prosecutors.

Mohamed Bahi, who served in the community affairs unit of the Adams administration, is accused of asking witnesses to lie to investigators and destroying evidence linked to a federal investigation into illegal contributions to a 2021 mayoral campaign, Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced.

Bahi’s resignation from the Adams administration was confirmed by City Hall on Monday.

“The charges unsealed today should leave no doubt about the seriousness of any effort to interfere with a federal investigation, particularly when undertaken by a government employee. Our commitment to uncovering the truth and following the facts wherever they may lead is unwavering,” Williams said in a statement.

Bahi is accused of organizing a December 2020 fundraiser for the mayor's then-inaugural campaign and instructing the owner of a Brooklyn construction company to reimburse his employees for donations, effectively making them illegal straw donors. 

“The knowing solicitation and acceptance of straw contributions can violate federal law when, for example, a political campaign makes false statements about straw contributions to a public entity to fraudulently obtain public matching funds based on the contributions, or when the straw contributions are used to smuggle foreign money into a campaign,” prosecutors said.

Eventually, federal investigators started asking questions, and Bahi, according to the complaint, encouraged those fake donors to lie to authorities.

The complaint states the mayor was aware of the scheme and believed the owner of the construction business would not cooperate with law enforcement. That business owner is now cooperating with the investigation.

Later, the complaint alleges, Bahi deleted the messaging app Signal from his phone when authorities came to search the premises. 

Neither Bahi nor his attorney spoke outside of court on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the mayor, despite the charges, praised Bahi for his service. 

"I always found him to be thoughtful. I always found him to be willing to go into all the communities, and what he has done to really bring down the noise in some of the conflicts that we’re seeing today, I think the record will speak loudly for what he has committed. But he has attorneys. Let his attorneys handle his case,” Adams said. 

Simultaneously, the mayor said, he tells all of his employees to follow the law. 

"It’s the same with everything. I will never instruct anyone to do anything illegal or improper,” he said.