Federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into New York City Councilmember Farah Louis, her sister Debbie Louis, and political strategist Edu Hermelyn used their positions to help a Brooklyn nonprofit win massive migrant shelter contracts.
The Associated Press reported on the investigation, which centers on BHRAGS Home Care Inc., a home care provider that began operating emergency shelters for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers as the city experienced a huge influx of foreigners under the Biden administration.
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 nonprofit that provides in-home services to the sick and elderly.
In 2022, as an influx of asylum seekers began arriving in the city, the nonprofit expanded its mission to include emergency shelters for migrants and other homeless services. Records show they have since received more than a dozen contracts, totaling over $200 million, from the Department of Homeless Services.
An attorney for the executive director of BHRAGS, Roberto Samedy, declined to comment.
The warrant also seeks records of money transfers and communications between the officials and Edouardo St. Fort, a former New York Police Department sergeant who retired in 2023
The same year, records show his security company, Fort NYC Security, received a $3 million contract from the Department of Homeless Services. An email and voice message left with St. Fort was not returned.
Building on Jake's reporting: Source tells us Bichotte Hermelyn's husband has directly urged Council members to steer discretionary funds to the shelter provider. Louis has herself given at least $71K to the provider.
— Chris Sommerfeldt (@C_Sommerfeldt) March 31, 2026
w/ @JasonBeeferman & @NickReisman https://t.co/SMQw1TeXQr https://t.co/rBOiYm5qH5 pic.twitter.com/R3QcBVr4JB
Farah Louis has directed at least $71,000 in discretionary council funding to BHRAGS since 2019, according to Politico. The search warrant also names former NYPD Sgt. Edouardo St. Fort, whose security firm received a $3 million shelter contract in 2023.
Ex-NYPD sergeant arrested in connection to federal corruption probe over migrant shelter contracts
— Unapologetic Fun (@stevewells11) March 31, 2026
The indictment stems from a federal investigation into Councilwoman Farah Louis and her sister Debbie Louis, an aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul, The AP reported https://t.co/cNfkFM6pGo
This is one of several instances of corrupt conduct related to migrant shelters in New York. The comptroller’s audit of the city’s DocGo contract found that 80 percent of the $13.8 million in payments were either unsupported or improperly documented, CBS News New York reported. This included a $2 million overpayment for security subcontractors.
A Fox Business report reported on a broader review that found the city had issued 340 asylum seeker contracts worth about $5.7 billion through emergency no-bid deals that do not have to make it through the usual safeguards. The reports suggest that the state effectively created a parallel government inside the migrant policy infrastructure, one where billions of dollars quickly flow through the system with a serious lack of transparency.
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