Nomiki’s bad match

As New York State contemplates a campaign finance system similar to that of the city’s, Nomiki Konst’s saga should provide a cautionary tale.

The former public advocate candidate may be in trouble, given a detailed fraud complaint by her ex-compliance officer. The complaint alleges that, after receiving $500,000 in matching funds on Feb. 21, the campaign was billed $90,000 the following day by an firm run by a Konst pal for work that may never have happened.

Konst — who finished in 11th place — denies wrongdoing.

If there was larceny, it was boosted last November, when voters increased the public matching fund ratio from 6-to-1 for the first $175 of a qualifying contribution to 8-to-1 for

the first $250 and doubled the maximum grant up to $2,000.

That mistake was further compounded by the City Council and Mayor de Blasio, fastforwarding a new system that was supposed to take effect in 2021 campaigns, to make it apply to this year’s public advocate special election. No wonder 17 candidates jumped in qualify for $7 million in total matching funds

Sweetening the pot increased the risk of fraud. Even under the more modest rules, nearly every election year produced an unscrupulous candidate or two taking advantage to pad campaign payrolls with various family and friends or line their own pockets.

The state is now crafting its own public financing scheme.

Tread carefully.