- City Hall has claimed the $53million program is meant to save the city money
- But the contract allows for an open-ended deal that could cost several billion
By GERMANIA RODRIGUEZ POLEO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 10:12 EST, 20 February 2024 | UPDATED: 14:06 EST, 20 February 2024
New York City‘s contract with an inexperienced bank to hand out debit cards to asylum seekers could cost as much as $10,000 per migrant, according to a new report.
Democrat mayor Eric Adams has claimed the pilot program would start with 500 families staying at The Roosevelt Hotel migrant shelter and cost $52million. It was supposed to save money by allowing migrants to buy their own food and baby supplies, which officials say will save $600,000 per month and $7.2 million annually.
But, in reality, the contract’s fine-print leaves the option open for the program to become an open-ended, multi-billion-dollar deal, as reported by The New York Post.
The $53million is not the total cost – rather, it is only the fee that Mobility Capital Finance (MoCaFi) will receive for its services, as explicitly stated in the contract. City Hall has actually given itself the flexibility to disburse at least $2.5 billion on the pre-paid debit cards over a year.
The contract allots up to $10,000 per migrant, with no ID check or fraud control – although City Hall has said they will make the migrants sign an affidavit promising only to use card for food and baby supplies. 
Mayor Eric Adams has claimed the program would cost $52million. But the contract’s fine-print leaves the option open for the program to become multi-billion-dollar deal
The debit card program is City Hall’s latest controversial move as it deals with the ongoing migrant crisis
Adams said earlier this month that he met MoCaFi’s founder, former JPMorgan Chase managing director Wole Coaxum (pictured), in the campaign trailTRENDINGMoment rescuers try to dig dying girl, 5, out of collapsed sand hole6.9k viewing nowHorror butt-lift images shown as mother-daughter murder trial begins3.1k viewing nowFamily of Kansas City parade murder suspect set up GOFUNDME for him2.1k viewing now
To make matters worse, the city’s Housing Preservation & Development also reportedly did not go through the usual competitive bidding process before awarding the job to Mobility Capital Finance (MoCaFi).
As the Post notes, the contract for the pilot program says MoCaFi was ‘referred to HPD by City Hall.’
Adams said earlier this month that he met MoCaFi’s founder, former JPMorgan Chase managing director Wole Coaxum, in the campaign trail.
But MoCaFi does not have experience running this kind of program; instead, the company usually focuses on pre-paid third-party debit cards and bank accounts which are marketed to minorities.
Coaxum is a big supporter of universal basic income and left banking, he said, when the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson inspired him to serve the ‘underbanked.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to City Hall for comment on this story.
The debit card program is City Hall’s latest controversial move as it deals with the ongoing migrant crisis.
Adams has claimed the pilot program would start with 500 families staying at The Roosevelt Hotel migrant shelter and cost $52million
More than 170,000 migrants have arrived in the city since the spring of 2022
More than 170,000 migrants have arrived in the city since the spring of 2022 and the crisis is only deepening as they continue to be bussed from Texas where record numbers are pouring over the border.
Adams confessed to Fox 5’s Rosanna Scotto earlier this week that, ‘We’re getting close to anywhere from 2,500 to peaking at 4,000 a week.’
‘What happens when there’s no more room?’ Scotto asked at one point during the interview, during which the 63-year-old Brownsville native sat opposite her, in front of several American – and one New York – flags.
‘We were not just saying we’re out of room as a soundbite,’ Adams answered, citing the more than 161,000 migrants whom have arrived and sought city aid since spring 2022.
‘We’re out of room, literally’, the Democrat declared. ‘People are going to be eventually sleeping on the streets.’
Meanwhile it was revealed earlier this year that a record number of migrants crossed the U.S. southern border in December, topping the highest amount under President Biden.
Republicans have seized upon border security issues as a main 2024 election issue, which has become a political headache for President Biden.
Meanwhile NYC has recently seen a wave of highly-publicized instances of crime by asylum seekers.
A violent confrontation between NYPD officers and migrants at the city’s Randall’s Island shelter centerMigrants get into brawl with police at Randall’s Island shelter
In one of the most viral incidents of the past month, three NYPD officers were pummeled by a group of migrant men in Times Square and left with minor injuries.
In another case, a 15-year-old Venezuelan migrant opened fire at a sneaker store during an attempted shoplifting.
He was arrested and charged as an adult after the bullet struck a Brazilian tourist and he continued to shoot at police while fleeing.
Moreover, last week one person was arrested following a violent confrontation between NYPD officers and migrants at the city’s Randall’s Island center – with the mayhem captured on video.
It was the latest in a series of violent assaults since Randall’s Island began housing migrants in August 2023 as New York struggled to house large numbers arriving from other states.
Just last month, a 24-year-old man was stabbed to death on the island while waiting in line for food.