Overview
- Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn charged four people Tuesday in an alleged scheme that embezzled more than $1.3 million from BHRAGS Home Care and steered city-funded shelter work in exchange for bribes.
- Prosecutors named BHRAGS leaders Jean Ronald Tirelus and Roberto Samedy, vendor Miguel Jorge, and ex‑NYPD sergeant Edouardo St. Fort, whose Fort NYC Security drew about $7 million in city work under mostly emergency, no‑bid contracts.
- Investigators are also reviewing whether Councilmember Farah Louis, her sister Debbie Louis, and political operative Edu Hermelyn received improper benefits tied to BHRAGS, with no charges filed against them to date and Debbie Louis placed on leave.
- BHRAGS shifted into shelter operations in 2022 and has since won more than a dozen city contracts topping $200 million, reflecting how emergency awards bypass normal competitive bidding when officials say speed is urgent.
- The City Council said it is monitoring the case and urged a fair, swift probe, while prosecutors continue to seek communications and money‑transfer records tied to the named officials as the investigation advances.