Inside the lavish lifestyle of millionaire Erden Arkan who owns NYC construction firm linked to Eric Adams’ mayoral campaign cash probe
The co-owner of a Brooklyn construction company involved in a corruption investigation into New York City Mayor Eric Adams has flaunted a lavish, globe-trotting lifestyle despite several sticky legal battles.
Turkish-born Erden Arkan, 74, co-owner of KSK Construction Group, routinely parades his jet-setting ways on social media from swanky resorts in Japan, Turkey, Greece and more.
In addition to his regular tropical retreats, Arkan and his wife Itir, 73, offered a cool $2.1 million apartment on the 6th floor of Manhattan at 570 Broome Street, the same building he now has an ongoing wrongful death lawsuit over while he was building in 2019. , according to the New York Post.
KSK Construction is under investigation for alleged involvement in a kickback scheme with the Turkish government to funnel money into Adams’ successful 2021 mayoral campaign, which led to the FBI raiding the home of Adams’ chief fundraiser on Thursday.
Arkan has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Turkish-born Erden Arkan, 74, co-owner of KSK Construction Group, pictured enjoying a lavish holiday with his teacher wife Itir
Arkan’s (far left) KSK construction company has faced a number of lawsuits, including a wrongful death suit over the crushing death of a worker at a Manhattan construction site in 2021
The businessman regularly flaunts a jet-setting lifestyle on social media and owns several valuable properties in the Big Apple
Arkan’s wife Itir also regularly shares lavish holiday snaps on their envy-inducing social media accounts, including a June 2022 post of Erden sitting regally atop a marble throne at the Aphrodisia archaeological site in Turkey.
“#Theking #andhisserf,” she captioned the photo.
The couple’s lavish lifestyle is also funded by her former role as a teacher at New York’s prestigious Marymount School, which charges parents on Manhattan’s Upper East Side as much as $60,375 a year.
And in addition to their Manhattan apartment, the couple also owns a luxurious one-bedroom hideaway in Williamsburg, which they reportedly rent out for $4,200 a month.
But before the investigation into Mayor Adams, it was the Manhattan apartment complex that recently gave Arkan headaches.
In 2021, the family of war veteran Gregory Echevirria sued several companies, including KSK Construction, involved in the construction of 570 Broome Street.
When the apartment complex was built in 2019, Echevirria, who worked as a laborer on the site, was crushed by a 7.5-ton counterweight, according to court records.
The veteran’s family accused KSK and the other companies of negligence, including a failure to secure scaffolding and ensure construction tools such as pulleys were safe. The lawsuit is still ongoing.
Arkan shares the building with James Bond “No Time to Die” director Cary Fukanaga, owner of the penthouse apartment.
A June 2022 post showing Erden sitting regally atop a marble throne at the Aphrodisia archaeological site in Turkey, with his wife captioned: “#Theking #andhisserf”
KSK Construction has faced several legal battles, including allegations that it failed to pay nearly $178,000 in invoices billed by engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti Inc in 2016.
The fancy vacations Arkan shows off on Arkan’s social media are also helped by his wife’s (pictured) former career as a teacher at the prestigious Marymount School of New York, which paid parents on Manhattan’s Upper East Side a whopping $60,375 per year.
Arkan owns a $2.1 million apartment at 570 Broome Street, a high-rise in Manhattan’s West Village that KSK helped build. In 2021, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed two years after a worker was crushed by a 7-ton counterweight
According to court records first reported by The Post, the ongoing wrongful death lawsuit came after a series of similar malpractice allegations.
KSK is accused of failing to pay nearly $178,000 in invoices billed by engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti Inc in 2016 related to the construction of a property in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
Arkan’s company reportedly did not dispute the outstanding fees, raising eyebrows as to why they were ignored.
The following year, KSK also tried to avoid a fine from the Department of Buildings by filing a lawsuit against the department’s commissioner, Rick Chandler, in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The construction company reportedly claimed it was overcharged by $10,000 as it was also issued a fine identical to that of its subcontractor after allegedly failing to ensure an adjacent balcony was protected against falling.
It is unclear where the company stands on the various lawsuits, and KSK did not immediately respond when contacted by DailyMail.com.
Despite numerous legal battles, the construction guru has apparently not let the various lawsuits hinder his extensive travel plans.
Populating his social media accounts includes hot air balloon rides in Cappadocia, Turkey, and a recent trip in March to the Japanese city of Osaka, the month before their next trip to Turkey.
Records show he was also a staunch supporter of Adams. He donated $1,500 to the former cop’s 2021 campaign and also held a fundraiser in May 2021 that raised nearly $70,000 for his run for mayor.
Eric Adams told Pix11 on Friday that he believed there was no misconduct in his 2021 campaign, stating: ‘Sometimes there’s smoke without fire’
Brianna Suggs, 25, is one of the top fundraisers for the campaign of Eric Adams, whose Brooklyn home was raided by the FBI on Thursday
FBI investigators raided the home of Adams’ chief fundraiser Brianna Suggs, 25, on Thursday and were reportedly investigating a straw donor program to funnel donations from the Turkish government.
A straw donor is a donation made illegally with another party’s money under an alias to conceal the origin of the money.
The FBI has seized phones, laptops and documents as part of their investigation into Adams’ 2021 campaign.
In a strange twist, it emerged on Friday that a benefits check had been requested for Suggs’ home on Wednesday evening – hours before the FBI raid.
In response to the raid, Adams defended his young assistant after the FBI investigation, insisting that sometimes there is “smoke without fire.”
Neither Adams nor Suggs have been charged with any wrongdoing, and Adams said Friday he was confident his team had acted within the law. He promised to fully cooperate with any investigation, but said he had not been contacted by police.