Letitia James Spent $41K Taxpayer Funds on Private Jet Flights While Campaigning

Private Jets, Missing Contracts, and Troubling Parallels to Campaign Travel

A private jet takes off. No public schedule. No contract identifier appears in the State Comptroller’s public transparency portal. No explanation — except for the payment record.

And taxpayers are covering it.

Over thirteen months, New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office spent $41,807.80 on private charter flights through an arrangement with no documentation visible in public transparency systems.

That’s enough to fund significant legal aid services. Enough to hire a domestic violence victims advocate. Enough to expand the office’s consumer protection division.

Instead, it bought six flights. Six flights that exist only as line items in the Comptroller’s records. Six flights whose details may only be accessible through formal Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests.

The records — uncovered through an exhaustive search of the New York State Comptroller’s transparency portal — paint a troubling picture of a top prosecutor deploying high-end aviation services without the contracts or documentation that would typically appear in the state’s public financial records.

And the kicker? Not a single other New York State agency has used this charter company in the last decade. Just the AG’s Office. And later, James’ campaign.

Documented Overlaps

The timing of several payments demands particular scrutiny when compared with James’ documented public activities:

Martha’s Vineyard Connection

On August 10, 2021 — while New York still reeled from the explosive Cuomo harassment report James had just released — her office authorized a $7,015.45 payment to Venture Jets.

That same day, her campaign paid for a Martha’s Vineyard house rental, documented by the Washington Free Beacon.

Public records confirm James’ presence on Martha’s Vineyard during this period.

She was photographed at an EBONY Media Group celebration and later spoke at a Martha’s Vineyard Social Justice Leadership Foundation event at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs.

The SOMOS Conference Connection

The November 8, 2021 payments — totaling over $13,000 for two charges on the same day — coincided precisely with the annual SOMOS conference in Puerto Rico, a major networking event for New York politicians.

James was documented as an active participant at this conference, where she was described as being “everywhere, talking to everyone” while campaigning for governor.

James was “fully in campaign mode” throughout the five-day conference, despite telling reporters she wanted to focus on issues rather than politics.

The Money Trail

The flights began just after the 2020 presidential election. They intensified during the summer of political upheaval in 2021 as Cuomo fell from power. They concluded in December 2021, just as James contemplated her political future.

Six payments. One vendor: Venture Jets Inc., a Pennsylvania-based charter company that specializes in “luxury aviation solutions.”

The same company that would later receive a $12,049 payment from James’ campaign. The same company that remains mysteriously absent from every other state agency’s vendor list.

When we trace the timing, a pattern emerges that demands explanation:

The Exclusive Vendor

What makes Venture Jets so special that it became the exclusive charter provider to the Attorney General’s office?

Our comprehensive review of state expenditure records from 2015 to present reveals a startling fact: No other New York State agency — not the Governor’s Office, not the State Police, not the Department of Health — has ever paid Venture Jets for charter services.

Only the Attorney General’s office.

This exclusivity raises fundamental questions: Was there a competitive bidding process? Special capabilities? A unique service offering?

The public record in the Comptroller’s transparency portal is silent.

Yet months later, in May 2022, this very same charter company would surface again — this time in James’ campaign finance reports, receiving $12,049 for “Transportation” — crossing from public to political service.

What’s Missing from Public View

What’s most troubling about these flights isn’t just the cost — it’s the absence of documentation in public transparency systems.

Each of the six Venture Jets payments appears in the state’s financial system with a transaction ID, but there are no contract identifiers, no associated travel authorizations, and no procurement records explaining the purpose or necessity of these flights visible in the Comptroller’s transparency portal.

Even basic information — such as passenger names or flight destinations — would only be accessible through formal Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests.

Charter flights are typically paid in advance or on the day of service — often at the time the flight is confirmed. State travel records reflect when payments are issued, while campaign records typically show when expenses are incurred. This difference could explain slight date mismatches — but it doesn’t explain the pattern. Several of the state-funded flights align closely with documented campaign activity, raising questions about whether public travel was used for political purposes.

These timing factors cast additional doubt on the absence of travel authorizations, manifests, or reimbursements in public records — and raise further questions about whether these flights align with official business or political activities.

According to official New York State procurement guidelines, all state procurements — regardless of amount — must be documented with a clear justification of need, vendor selection rationale, and a description of how the procurement complied with applicable rules.

While there is no statute requiring contract identifiers for every purchase above $5,000, that threshold often triggers additional documentation such as internal contracts or purchase authorizations within the Statewide Financial System (SFS), New York’s internal accounting platform.

While the SFS itself is internal, contract IDs typically appear in the Comptroller’s public portal.

Yet in this case, none of the six Venture Jets flights — all exceeding $5,000 — show any contract ID in that system, as would typically be expected.

This omission raises red flags. Charter flights are classified as services, and while only contracts over $50,000 require formal approval under State Finance Law §112, smaller purchases are still subject to internal controls, competitive quote requirements, and documentation standards.

Without any trace of contract identifiers, bidding records, or exemption justifications in the public record, it remains unclear whether proper procedures were followed — or if they were bypassed entirely.

State ethics rules also require a clear separation between official business and political activity.

Yet there are no publicly recorded reimbursements between the Attorney General’s office and James’ campaign — not even when charter flights coincided with known campaign events like the August 2021 Martha’s Vineyard gathering or the November 2021 Somos conference in Puerto Rico.

Finally, James’ financial disclosure statements from 2018 through 2023 — filed with the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government — contain no mention of charter flights, travel reimbursements, or transportation-related gifts that might explain her office’s exclusive relationship with Venture Jets.

Following the Money

The trail doesn’t end with the state payments. It continues into the campaign.

On May 27, 2022, Letitia James’ campaign reported spending $12,049 on Venture Jets for “Transportation” — the exact same vendor that had been receiving state funds.

This payment appears in her July 2022 campaign finance filing.

This follows a pattern of luxury spending we previously documented, where James’ campaign showed a preference for high-end travel arrangements and accommodations at premium destinations.

To be clear: there’s nothing inherently improper about a campaign using the same vendor as a state office.

But when that vendor appears exclusively in one official’s orbit — both public and political — it raises questions about the relationship and whether proper boundaries were maintained.

* State campaign finance records were reviewed via the New York State Board of Elections database (July 2022 filings).

Potential Misuse of Public Funds

Beyond the transparency issues detailed above, these flights represent a potentially significant misuse of taxpayer resources. At a total cost of $41,807.80, these six charter flights consumed funding that could have supported critical public services within the Attorney General’s own mandate.

The pattern is particularly troubling when commercial airlines were readily available at a fraction of the cost. This apparent preference for luxury transportation—especially when coinciding with campaign activities—suggests a concerning disregard for fiscal responsibility with public funds, regardless of whether procurement rules were technically followed.

Environmental Hypocrisy

Beyond the financial concerns, these luxury travel arrangements represent a troubling contradiction.

AG James’ own office publishes climate change guidance that specifically advises New Yorkers to reduce air travel impact, stating “Transportation is the source of about half of all climate-change pollution emitted in the US.”

This apparent disconnect between her office’s public guidance and private actions raises additional questions about the necessity and appropriateness of these premium travel arrangements.

The Questions That Demand Answers

• If the flights weren’t for official business, what were they for?
• If they were for official business, why aren’t the contracts visible in the Comptroller’s transparency portal?
• If the August 10th flight went to Martha’s Vineyard — where James’ campaign rented property that same day — was the state reimbursed?
• Why would the Attorney General’s office need six private charter flights when commercial options were widely available at a fraction of the cost?
• Why did the November 8, 2021 travel require two separate payments on the same day?
• Was a competitive bidding process followed for selecting this charter service?
• And most fundamentally: Why is Venture Jets the exclusive charter provider to the Attorney General when no other state agency uses their services?

We invite Attorney General James to respond to these findings and the patterns identified in our previous reports regarding her campaign spending and financial disclosures.

The Guardian Role

The Attorney General serves as New York’s chief legal officer — the guardian of the public interest, the enforcer of transparency laws, the prosecutor of those who misuse public resources.

When that office operates with charter flights documented only as line items in the Comptroller’s transparency portal and exclusive vendor relationships not visible in public records, it undermines the very principles it exists to protect.

We’re not alleging impropriety. We’re demanding transparency.

That’s why we’re submitting comprehensive Freedom of Information Law requests targeting all records related to these flights: passenger manifests, travel authorizations, destination records, and justifications.

If legitimate public business required charter flights, the documentation should exist and be obtainable through FOIL. If proper separation between official and political activities was maintained, the records should show it.

Because in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, there should be no mystery flights on the public dime.

Written by: Sam Antar

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