The former Republican mayor of a Connecticut city has suspended her gubernatorial campaign after she was accused of misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of public funds for personal expenses.
Erin Stewart, who served as the mayor of New Britain from 2013 to 2025, has been accused of using her city-issued credit card to spend more than $200,000 on gifts, clothing, a private club, a Peppa Pig-themed party for her daughter and more.
The accusations were laid out in a report penned by an independent law firm called Crumbie Law Group, which was hired by current city officials to investigate Stewart's suspected misuse of taxpayer money while she was in office.
The report was released on Thursday, and Stewart announced that she would no longer be running for governor of Connecticut on the same day.
'I take the allegations that have been made against me very seriously,' the former mayor said in a public statement.
'And for that reason, I am suspending my gubernatorial campaign effective immediately so that I can focus on addressing those claims.'
According to the law firm's report, Stewart spent about $47,500 on Amazon purchases, $19,200 on Costco, $7,400 on Instacart and $113,500 on 'other vendors' using her public credit card.
Among the Amazon purchases that were most obviously unrelated to city business were charges for a 'tropical Peppa Pig-themed party,' which included party favors and decorations that investigators matched to social media posts of the party.
Erin Stewart, the former mayor of New Britain, Connecticut, has suspended her gubernatorial campaign after she was accused of using a city-issued credit card for personal expenses
Stewart is accused of spending $47,500 of taxpayer money on Amazon charges, which included decorations and party favors for her daughter's Peppa Pig-themed birthday party
The accusations were laid out in an independent report by Crumbie Law Group, which included this screenshot of Stewart's Facebook page as well as the one above. The photos allegedly show items that match Amazon charges to the city-issued credit card
Investigators also matched items that were allegedly purchased for Stewart's husband's 40th birthday party to social media posts as well.
The former mayor deleted her Instagram page on Thursday, the same day the report was released.
She was also accused of spending $19,200 on 'costs and dues' associated with the exclusive Hartford Club, which is located in a Georgian-style mansion and bills itself as a gathering place for 'the region’s most influential people and organizations.'
Crumbie Law Group determined that between 2016 and 2025, Stewart spent a total of $207,076.07 on her P-card, which is the term for the city-issued credit card, and that $123,018.25 of those charges had no supporting documentation.
And even some charges that were tracked in city records, such as those for the birthday party favors and decorations, were improperly flagged as 'office supplies,' according to the law firm.
Other items Stewart allegedly purchased with taxpayer money included clothing and jewelry for herself and her family, as well as maternity products and other baby-related items around the birth of the former mayor's second child.
'On several separate occasions, Ms. Stewart can be seen wearing identical clothing to those that she purchased on Amazon utilizing her P-card,' the law firm wrote in its report.
Stewart is also accused of using her P-card to benefit her gubernatorial campaign, which is a violation of city laws.
Stewart is also accused of using taxpayer money to purchase clothing and jewelry. The law firm included this screenshot of her Facebook page, which allegedly shows her wearing a dress she purchased on Amazon
The law firm included this screenshot of an Amazon listing for the dress Stewart wore in the photo above
The law firm also included these photos as another example of a dress Stewart was pictured wearing that was purchased on Amazon
She allegedly used the credit card to purchase flights for herself and her campaign manager to go to Washington DC and attempt to get an endorsement from President Trump.
Additionally, the law firm found that Stewart used the credit card to purchase food and beverages for a campaign fundraising event at the Hartford Club in 2017 and never reimbursed the city for the expenditures.
Crumbie Law Group also called out New Britain's various directors of finance who served under Stewart in its report, saying that it was the office's responsibility to oversee her P-card charges.
Those public officials 'should have known of the abuse that was ongoing with Ms. Stewart’s P-Card; however, there is no record indicating Ms. Stewart’s P-Card use was ever suspended nor restricted in any way,' the law firm said.
Stewart's alleged misuse of taxpayer money could lead to 'significant civil and criminal liability under both state and federal law' for both the mayor and the directors of finance who served under her, according to the firm.
The former mayor may have violated 'statutes governing Fraud, Larceny, Embezzlement, False Statements, Wire Fraud, and Misuse of Government Property.'
Stewart could face criminal charges, as she potentially violated several criminal statutes, according to the law firm
Following the report's release, New Britain's current mayor, Bobby Sanchez, announced that he would refer the accusations against Stewart to state and federal criminal prosecutors.
In Stewart's announcement that she is suspending her gubernatorial campaign, she said: 'I will take accountability for any mistakes, and I intend to make full and complete restitution to the City of New Britain — my home — for anything that I owe.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to Stewart for comment.