Chinese tycoon admits to making straw donations to New York politicians

A Chinese business giant pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges that he paid more than $10,000 in straw donor contributions to political candidates — including, a person familiar with the matter said, to a New York congressman and Mayor Eric Adams.

Hui Qin, 56, of Old Westbury, NY, who was once on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires, led a now defunct entertainment company called SMI Culture. But he has been in federal custody since the fall, when he was arrested at an apartment he had at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan on charges of using fake IDs.

Mr. Qin asked others to contribute to political campaigns of his choice, and he agreed to pay them back in 2021 and 2022, prosecutors said. The other figures who received donations were Rep. Andrew Garbarino of Long Island and Allan Fung, a former mayor of Cranston, R.I., who was running for Congress, the person familiar with the matter said. Both are Republicans, while Mr. Adams is a Democrat.

Mr. Qin hid his activities from the officials for whom he raised money, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. As a result, they unknowingly filed false reports.

Breon S. Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement that Mr. Qin had admitted that he “participated in a brazen web of deceit” that spread lies to authorities overseeing the election.

“Ensuring election integrity and rooting out campaign contribution fraud are Department of Justice priorities,” Peace said in a statement. “No one is above the law, regardless of their wealth or position in society.”

Vito Pitta, Mr. Adams’ attorney for his 2021 campaign, said: “As the federal government made clear today, the campaign had no knowledge of a straw donor program — and no member of the campaign has been accused of any wrongdoing. ”

Mr. Fung and Rep. Garbarino did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Qin’s legal troubles go far beyond the charges to which he pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Central Islip, N.Y. In September, Mr. Qin was arrested by police in Nassau County, who accused him of trying to attack his ex-wife, with whom he was still living, before she was scheduled to testify in a civil case against him in federal court of Manhattan. .

He had tried to smash open a locked door with an ax in the September episode, which came months after another attack in which he tried to strangle her, prosecutors said.

Mr. Qin was sued in Manhattan by a Chinese investment management group to enforce a $450 million foreign arbitration award against him. He allegedly transferred ownership of his Long Island home to his ex-wife and ex-mother-in-law for just $10 after arbitration began in China.

He also pleaded guilty Monday to immigration fraud and providing false identification. He also used the name Muk Lam Li for years, but omitted that information when applying for a green card, prosecutors said.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, he agreed to leave the United States after serving his sentence. His sentencing is set for May 14; Prosecutors said they would ask the judge for no more than six months if Mr. Qin complied with the terms of the settlement.

A lawyer for Mr Qin, Henry Mazurek, said his client was happy the case had been resolved.

“After years of investigation, the government’s case resulted in a plea deal in which they recommended no more than six months in prison,” he said. “Mr. Qin is pleased that this matter is behind him and looks forward to resuming his business career outside the United States.”

The campaigns of Mr. Adams and his government have become the focus of several investigations.

In September, prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office indicted Eric Ulrich, Mr. Adams’s former senior adviser and then buildings commissioner, on charges of taking bribes. In November, FBI agents searched the home of the mayor’s inexperienced chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, as well as the homes of Rana Abbasova, an assistant in Mr. Adams’ international affairs office, and Cenk Öcal, a former Turkish Airlines executive who was employed by the mayor’s transition team.

Days later, officers stopped Mr. Adams on the street, asked his security detail to step aside and seized his electronic devices, part of a criminal investigation into whether his 2021 campaign conspired to funnel illegal foreign donations into his coffers.

Straw donors are a recurring theme for researchers.

In February, Dwayne Montgomery, a retired police inspector who had been friends with the mayor, pleaded guilty to conspiring to steer straw donors to the mayor’s campaign. Two other donors named in the same indictment, brothers Shahid Mushtaq and Yahya Mushtaq, pleaded guilty in October.