Prosecutors unsealed an indictment Tuesday alleging the operators of city-funded migrant shelters skimmed $1 million from their no-bid contracts, and pocketed kickbacks from subcontractors they brought in to handle security and food.
The charges filed by U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella in Brooklyn are part of a broader corruption investigation that appears to include a City Council member and a top aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul, according to reports and court documents.
Among those charged was Edouardo St. Fort, a former NYPD sergeant whose firm, Fort NYC Security, was hired by the nonprofit BHRAGS Home Care Inc. that has received millions of dollars in contracts to operate city shelters.
Former BHRAGS’ executives Jean Ronald Tirelus and Roberto Samedy were named as St. Fort’s co-defendants, charged with embezzling $1.3 million from some of the city contracts. Tirelus is no longer with the organization, and Samedy was placed on administrative leave, a spokesperson said.
Prosecutors alleged they received bribes and kickbacks from St. Fort and a fourth-codefendant, Miguel Jorge, in exchange for steering sub-contracts at the shelters their way.
St. Fort and his company were named in a search warrant first reported by the AP that revealed prosecutors were investigating whether City Councilmember Farah Louis (D-Brooklyn) and her sister, Esther Debbie Louis, received bribes or kickbacks related to shelter contracts.
The AP also reported that investigators were looking into whether Edu Hermelyn received any benefits. He is the husband of Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who is an assemblymember and chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
Debbie Louis, who has worked in intergovernmental affairs for Gov. Hochul for three years, was placed on leave last week, a spokesperson for the governor confirmed. Farah Louis didn’t immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.
BHRAGS is a Brooklyn nonprofit organization that has received more than $185 million in city contracts for homeless shelters, including those for migrants and asylum seekers, city records show.
Charging that Tirelus and Samedy led a nonprofit “that capitalized on the city’s urgent need for homeless shelter providers,” acting Department of Investigation Commissioner Christopher Ryan stated: “Those who exploit the city’s need for homeless shelters endanger the very programs meant to help unhoused people.”
Amelia Fogg, a spokesperson for BHRAGS Home Care, said in a statement that they have “served New Yorkers in need with integrity and the highest ethical standards, and we take the allegations against Mr. Samedy seriously.”
Fogg said Samedy “is on administrative leave, and we have been fully cooperating with law enforcement and will continue to do so.” She said BHRAGS’ chief operating officer, Frances Pierre, “has assumed the role of executive director and will continue our critical work empowering marginalized individuals with compassion.”
Comptroller’s records show St. Fort’s firm, Fort NYC Security, is a subcontractor on two contracts worth nearly $34 million that the city Department of Homeless Services (DHS) awarded on to BHRAGS Home Care Corp. since October 2022 to manage shelters. Both were awarded on an emergency basis which did not require competitive bidding designed to ensure taxpayers get the best value and quality from vendors.
The indictment alleges Tirelus and Samedy received kickbacks from St. Fort in exchange for bringing him on as a sub-vendor to provide shelter security.
Samedy is listed as receiving a salary of more than $376,000 according to BHRAGS 2024 tax forms. Tirelus is listed as BHRAGS chairman and president in 2021 tax forms with no salary listed. The group’s tax forms also reveal the nonprofit’s revenue rose from about $21 million in 2021 to nearly $122 million in 2024.
St. Fort, who retired from the NYPD in 2023, is currently a police sergeant in the division of public safety at UMass Boston, a university spokesperson confirmed. He did not respond to a phone call seeking comment.
St. Fort owns a security company that also provides security at shelters operated by the Bronx Family Network, according to city data. They’ve received more than $1 million since 2023.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at an unrelated news conference Tuesday that the city “will definitely be looking into” the contracts named in the indictment, but didn’t comment further.
A spokesperson for City Council Speaker Julie Menin said the council is “closely monitoring the situation based on press reports.”
“New Yorkers deserve confidence in their government,” the spokesperson, Yoav Gonen, said in a statement. “It is essential that the federal investigation proceed fairly and expeditiously to bring this matter to a resolution.”
Additional reporting by Kennedy Sessions.
