The Chinese billionaire head of developer Shen Zhen New World I was on the lam when a federal appeals court upheld his company’s conviction for public corruption in Los Angeles.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled there was ample evidence to support the firm’s conviction for bribing former L.A. Councilman José Huizar with more than $1.5 million in cash, gambling trips and escorts in exchange for his support of a proposed Downtown hotel project, City News Service reported.
L.A.-based Shen Zhen was convicted in November 2022 of three counts of honest service wire fraud, four counts of interstate and foreign travel in aid of bribery, and one count of bribery.
In May, the developer with an office in Downtown was fined $4 million and sentenced to five years probation, the maximum penalty under the law.
Shen Zhen New World I was owned and operated by Wei Huang, who over four years lavished extravagant Las Vegas hotel stays, gambling chips and prostitutes on Huizar while seeking to redevelop the L.A. Grand Hotel into the city’s tallest skyscraper.
Huang’s closest aide confided to Huizar’s cohort that Huang’s strategy was to “give, give, give” so that he could later make a “big ask” for Huizar’s support on the redevelopment project, according to trial testimony.
The Pasadena appellate panel rejected Shen Zhen’s appeal, which had argued the government’s failure to establish either an agreement between the parties or any official action by Huizar taints all of the counts against the company.
Although indicted along with Shen Zhen, Huang never stood trial and remains a fugitive in China.
Shen Zhen bought the L.A. Grand Hotel in 2010 for $63 million. Huang had planned to turn the 13-story hotel into a 77-story mixed-use tower.
Early this year, the 55-year-old Huizar, who represented the city’s 14th District for nearly two decades, pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Downtown developers and cheating on his taxes.
He was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the “pay to play” bribery scheme and allowed to surrender to begin his prison term no later than Oct. 7.
Two developers, Shen Zhen and Dae Yong Lee, head of 940 Hill, were found guilty of bribery.
Along with other perks, Huang slipped Huizar $260,000 in gambling chips during more than 20 trips to Las Vegas, and assisted Huizar with $600,000 in hush-money after a sexual-harassment lawsuit threatened the councilman’s 2015 re-election campaign.
Former Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan, general manager of the Department of Building and Safety before becoming the city’s deputy mayor of economic development, was convicted at retrial of a dozen federal counts, including racketeering conspiracy, bribery, honest services fraud and other charges for helping Huizar in the bribery scheme.
Chan’s sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 4 in downtown Los Angeles, according to the Daily News.
— Dana Bartholomew
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