Feds Probe Hochul Aide, City Councilwoman Sister For Alleged Migrant Shelter Bribery Scheme

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether an aide to Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the aide’s politician sister accepted bribes connected to migrant shelter funding in the city, according to a report.

Debbie Louis, the Assistant Secretary of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Hochul administration, and her sister, New York City Councilwoman Farah Louis, were both named in a federal warrant signed March 19, the Associated Press first reported late Monday. The warrant, reportedly obtained by the AP, also names the husband of Brooklyn Democratic Party chair and New York State Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.

Federal authorities are investigating whether the Louis sisters and Mr. Hermelyn received bribes or kickbacks in return for their support of BHRAGS Home Care Inc., a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that in 2022 expanded its scope to provide homeless and migrant shelters, the AP reported. In the past few years, the organization has received a total of $200 million in New York City contracts.

Mr. Hermelyn had, over the past few years, solicited multiple members of the City Council over the phone, asking them to allocate money to the nonprofit, Politico reported on Monday, citing an anonymous source. The Democratic lawmaker’s husband, who previously worked in the administration of former New York City Mayor