According to CBS News, the BBC’s American affiliate, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing federal criminal charges.

Adams, 64, was elected leader of the U.S.’s largest city nearly three years ago on a promise to tackle crime.

But he and several top officials close to him are coming under increasing scrutiny as part of multiple federal corruption investigations.

The charges remain secret, but Adams (64) becomes the first mayor in the city’s history to be charged while still in office.

“I always knew that if I took a stand for New Yorkers, I would become a target – and a target I became,” Adams said in a statement to the BBC.

“If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with all my strength and spirit.”

According to CBS News, federal prosecutors will release the charges on Thursday, when Adams makes his first court appearance.

The reported charges come less than a year after Federal agents seized Adams’ electronic devices and searched the home of Brianna Suggs, his main fundraiser.

It later emerged that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan was investigating whether Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign team colluded with the Turkish government to funnel illegal donations to the campaign.

The New York Times reported Monday that prosecutors have subpoenaed the campaign and the mayor’s office for information related to five other countries: Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan.

Adams is adamant that he will remain in office, even as a growing list of officials call for his resignation. Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — a popular figure in left-leaning New York — joined that list.

“I fail to see how Mayor Adams can continue to govern New York City,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. “For the good of the city, he should resign.”

Ocasio-Cortez referred to a recent “tidal wave of layoffs and vacancies“which she believed posed a threat to the functioning of the city government.

The reported charges against Adams come weeks after Federal agents seized electronic devices belonging to three individuals closely associated with him – Schools Chancellor David Banks, his brother Deputy Mayor Phil Banks and his fiancée Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright.

David Banks made a surprise announcement on Tuesday that he would step down at the end of this year.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan is investigating another Banks brother, Terence, in connection with a possible bribery scandal involving his consulting firm and city contracts.

Prosecutors in that office are also investigating bribery allegations against the twin brother of former New York Police Chief Edward Caban, who resigned earlier this month, weeks after his phone was seized by federal agents.

Last Friday, the homes of Acting Police Chief Thomas Donlon were searched.

In the past two weeks, the mayor’s legal advisor and the city’s health commissioner have also resigned.

Adams, who is only the second black person to run in New York City, faces a growing list of Democratic challengers as he seeks re-election next year.

New York’s Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, a close ally of hers who has not yet commented on the charges, has the power to remove Adams from office.

If Adams’ term ends prematurely, Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate, would be next in line to become the city’s acting mayor.