Overview
- Manhattan prosecutors and the city’s Department of Investigation announced Monday that former Buildings Department supervisor Jake Udeh and Jih Yeuan “Mike” Hwang, Anson Tse, and Shiming Tam were indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges.
- All four pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday and are due back in court July 9, and they remain presumed innocent.
- Prosecutors allege the scheme ran from 2021 to 2025 across more than 300 projects in all five boroughs, with Udeh diverting plan reviews to his team or signing off himself to speed approvals.
- Court filings describe cash payments of $500 to $1,000 per job, text-message coordination, and paid trips to Paraguay and Japan for Udeh, with Hwang supplying more than $65,000 in benefits.
- DOB referred a staff tip that sparked a joint DOI–DA probe, and the agency is now auditing jobs Udeh touched and limiting when plan reviews can be transferred to protect code compliance and fair competition.