Eric Adams’ ‘champagne mogul’ friend is accused of being a SCAMMER who conned a woman out of $188,000

A friend of Mayor Eric Adams has been accused of being a con man who conned his girlfriend among thousands of people by threatening to tell her family that she had been sleeping with a married man if they tried to sue him.

Champagne magnate William Benson, 39, took insurance executive Stephanie Delpe around the world and showered her with expensive gifts before she realized he was conning her, handing over 8,000 to the scammer.

He approached her at a Newark networking event in 2016 and bragged that she had just landed on his private jet, before taking her to luxury celebrity hangouts in New York.

Benson also bragged that he knew the mayor of New York City, regularly posting him and other celebrities, including DJ Khaled, on his social media.

Delpe, who is now married with children, believes the champagne mogul dropped the Adams name so people would trust him, and others went ahead and told the New York Post that he had swindled them out of money.

Benson posted a screenshot of himself FaceTiming the mayor with the caption: “Just two ‘goats’ trying to change the world.”

He regularly shared photos of the two having dinner together, with his ex-wife claiming it’s part of his way of getting potential investors to trust him.

Delpe and Benson spent thousands on lavish trips and meals during their year-long relationship, with Benson regularly posting his celebrity links and champagne business to keep up appearances.

But Delpe claims that he soon began asking her for money, posing it as a “commercial investment” in her brand and that she would be reimbursed.

she told the New York Post: ‘He courted me out of my savings. That was what happened.

He told me, “You are very smart. You should do things yourself and invest your money for profit.”

“It was very exciting and I thought we were doing something together. She asked me for between $20,000 and $40,000, and when I said it sounded like a lot of money, she said it would be an investment.

‘He would double my money. He had very good credit, so I was able to access a lot of cash.’

Delpe took money from her 401k and savings accounts and took advances on her credit cards to give the money to Benson.

She received a letter outlining the Billionaires Row deal, but she was concerned about why he needed money from her.

The insurance executive decided to invest after Benson told him he had reached a deal with IMG, a global sports, talent and events company.

He claimed he would sponsor the February and September shows of New York Fashion Week, but was sued by IMG after he failed to shell out the sponsorship cash.

The lawsuit states that he agreed to pay $200,000 and give at least 40 cases for each show over the two terms.

Documents show the cases were sent to the February fairs, but the company only paid $45,000 of the $100,000 endorsement fee it owed for the first half of the year.

A judge ruled in October 2019 that the champagne company needed to return $182,000 to IMG, which has not been reimbursed.

Billionaires Row reportedly still owes IMG $155,000 according to the lawsuit, but the big name was enough to get Delpe on board.

She said: “Once I gave her the money, she must have thought, ‘This girl is an idiot,’ because she came back for more.”

“He told me it wasn’t enough, that IMG was about to cancel the deal and that we didn’t want to lose the initial investment.

‘I thought, if you have this big company and you’re making all this money, why do you need my money? Because there were times when it went beyond investment. He told me that his money was linked to the divorce process.

‘There was a $350 charge from a grocery store where I thought someone had stolen my credit cards. He said, ‘Well, I need to feed my family.’

Delpe also claimed that she shelled out thousands of dollars for Benson to buy clothes to “look the part” in addition to flying on planes.

He added that when their relationship ended, he asked for his money back, and Benson told him it was a “gift” and that if he tried to sue him, he would tell his family that she was sleeping with a married man.

Added Delphe: “It was kind of exciting to get on a private jet and go places and get involved in things, that definitely appealed to me,” she said. ‘I didn’t realize until later that I was financing it.

“I would hate to see this happen to someone else and know that I could have done something to stop it, but I didn’t.”

A publicist for Benson said he and his lawyers are “not aware” of an IMG lawsuit or ruling, adding that he “founded and financed” the business with his then-wife Danni.

His close relationship with the mayor also convinced his now ex-wife to invest $500,000 in 2010 to launch Billionaire Row.

The couple have yet to finalize their divorce, with Danni saying: ‘That’s William’s credibility. He says, ‘I know the mayor.’ He uses it to his advantage.

Eight others have also claimed Benson scammed them out of their money, with a former colleague saying he failed to show up for business meetings, adding: “The brand never grew beyond its flashy social media presence.”

Benson also launched BR Electric, which claimed on its website to convert gasoline-powered vehicles to electric and listed ‘NYC, Office of the Mayor’ as a project partner.

A spokesperson for Adams said in a statement that “neither the Mayor’s Office, nor any other city agency, has any association with BR Electric or William Benson.”

Photos on Benson’s now-private Instagram page reveal images of him posing with the mayor, even kissing his head one night at Casa Cipriani.

After winning the mayoral election, Benson posted a video saying, “I just want to say I love you.” Greetings to the next Mayor of New York City.