Real estate developer bribed CA councilman with luxury trips, prostitutes, feds say

A real estate development company based in China paid more than $1 million in bribes to a Los Angeles city councilman in the form of luxury trips, expensive meals, prostitutes and more, according to federal prosecutors.

The development company, Shen Zhen New World I LLC, which was seeking the city’s approval to build a 77-story skyscraper, also gave the councilman $600,000 to help him settle a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a former staffer, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

A jury found the company, owned by billionaire Wei Huang, 57, a Chinese citizen, guilty on Nov. 10 of eight counts related to the bribery payments, including “three counts of honest service wire fraud, four counts of interstate and foreign travel in aid of bribery, and one count of bribery”, according to the release.

The company could not be reached for comment. Huang, who is believed to be in China, according to officials, has not appeared in court and has no attorney listed.

‘Stays at luxury Las Vegas hotels’

In 2010, Shen Zhen New World I bought the L.A. Grand Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The hotel is located in a district that was represented by former City Councilman José Huizar, who also served as chairman of the city’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee., which was in charge of overseeing major development projects, according to the release.

The development company filed an application with the Los Angeles City Planning Department in June 2018 to redevelop the hotel into a mixed-use skyscraper that would be the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.

Over the course of about five years before the application was filed, the company gave Huizar and his aide, George Esparza, “cash, casino gambling chips, flights on private jets and commercial airlines, stays at luxury Las Vegas hotels and casinos, expensive meals, spa services, prostitution services (and) political contributions,” the release says.

It also gave Huizar a $600,000 collateral so that he could privately settle a sexual harassment lawsuit that he said “threatened his career,” according to the release. These payments were made between February 2013 and November 2018.

Huang treated Huizar and Esparza to stays in presidential suites and private villas, rides in Rolls-Royce limousines, bottle service at Las Vegas nightclubs, shark-fin soup dinners and bottles of wine costing as much as $10,000, according to the LA Times.

Attorneys representing Huizar and Esparza did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

Councilman pleaded not guilty to charges

Prosecutors said Shen Zhen New World I intended to “influence” Huizar to take various government actions to support its development project, including voting in favor of the project in the planning committee, working to expedite the approval process and enhancing Huang’s reputation among other members of city government.

The company could face a multi-million dollar fine, the release says. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2023.

Huizar, who served as a city councilman from 2005 to 2020, pleaded not guilty to multiple charges against him, including racketeering conspiracy and multiple bribery counts, according to the Department of Justice. He is scheduled to go to trial on Feb. 21, 2023.

In July 2020, Esparza pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on June 5, 2023, according to the release.

Shen Zhen New World I is the second development company that has been found guilty of paying bribes to Huizar.

On June 27, a federal jury found real estate developer Dae Yong Lee, also known as David Lee, 57, guilty of multiple counts, including fraud and bribery, according to the Department of Justice. The company gave Huizar and his special assistant $500,000 cash “in exchange for their help in resolving a labor organization’s appeal of their downtown Los Angeles development project.”

This story was originally published November 11, 2022 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Real estate developer bribed CA councilman with luxury trips, prostitutes, feds say."