Feds probe whether NYC Council member, Hochul aide took bribes to help migrant shelter provider

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors are investigating whether a New York City Council member and her sister, an aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul, accepted bribes or kickbacks in connection with the appropriation of city funds to a migrant shelter provider, according to a copy of a search warrant obtained by The Associated Press.

The warrant, signed March 19, seeks evidence of possible criminal violations involving Councilmember Farah Louis, a Brooklyn Democrat, and Debbie Louis, who serves as Hochul’s assistant secretary of New York City intergovernmental affairs.

It also names Edu Hermelyn, the husband of state Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who also chairs the Brooklyn Democratic Party.

A spokesperson for Hochul confirmed that Debbie Louis was placed on leave last week after the governor learned of the federal corruption investigation. A person who answered a phone number listed for Louis promptly hung up after being asked about the probe.

Voicemail messages seeking comment from Farah Louis and Edu Hermelyn were not returned.

The warrant, for a phone connected to the investigation, said prosecutors are seeking information about whether the three received benefits in exchange for actions taken on behalf of BHRAGS Home Care Inc., a Brooklyn-based service provider previously focused on at-home medical care.

BHRAGS received its first contract to run an emergency migrant shelter in 2022, as an influx of asylum seekers began arriving in the city. The company has since been awarded more than a dozen contracts for homeless services totaling over $200 million.

An attorney for the executive director of BHRAGS, Roberto Samedy, declined to comment.

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn declined to comment.

The existence of a search warrant doesn't necessarily indicate that prosecutors plan to bring criminal charges, only that investigators persuaded a magistrate judge to allow them to dig deeper and seize evidence.

Both the Louis sisters and Heremlyn are prominent fixtures within Brooklyn’s Democratic county committee, which has faced a barrage of scandals in recent years.

Hermelyn briefly served as a senior advisor to former New York City Mayor Eric Adams, but resigned over questions about whether his position as a Brooklyn district leader violated rules forbidding dual government roles.

He later advised Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his failed mayoral bid.