Former NYPD sergeant, 3 others charged in alleged bribery, kickback scheme

A former NYPD sergeant whose security company was awarded millions of dollars in city contracts and former executives at a Brooklyn-based nonprofit are facing corruption charges in an alleged scheme to embezzle and steer business toward favored vendors, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Jean Ronald Tirelus and Roberto Samedy, the former chair and executive director, respectively, of an organization that provides home care for elderly New Yorkers and also operates homeless shelters, pocketed more than $1.3 million from the nonprofit.

Tirelus and Samedy also helped Miguel Jorge and retired NYPD sergeant Edouardo St. Fort to secure millions of dollars’ worth of business for their companies in exchange for bribes and kickbacks, according to prosecutors.

Tirelus, Samedy and Jorge pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday afternoon, and a judge ordered that they be released on bond. Samedy’s lawyer, Seth Zuckerman, said his client looks forward to clearing his name. St. Fort was arrested in Boston earlier Tuesday and made an appearance in federal court there and was released on bond.

The prosecutor's office said St. Fort isn't expected to enter a plea until he appears in Brooklyn. A Massachusetts attorney assigned to St. Fort’s case declined to comment. Attorneys for the other defendants could not immediately be reached.

St. Fort retired from the NYPD in 2023, according to a spokesperson. He is the owner of Fort NYC Security, which has received about $7 million in contracts to guard city shelters, according to records from the city comptroller’s office.

The records show most of the contracts were awarded on an emergency basis — a process with limited oversight that former Comptroller Brad Lander found was used regularly for migrant services and wasted tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined to comment Tuesday on whether his office is still using emergency contracts.

“I can get back to you on that,” he told a Gothamist reporter at an unrelated press conference. “I will tell you, however, any allegation or finding of improper behavior and action by a public servant is immensely concerning, and we will be following up on that.”

Prosecutors said Jorge bribed Tirelus and Samedy in exchange for deals to provide facilities maintenance and homeless shelters operated by their nonprofit, BHRAGS Home Care Corp. The defendants face bribery charges, while Tirelus and Samedy have also been indicted on charges of wire fraud, embezzlement, bribery and money laundering conspiracy.

Samedy was the executive director of the company, an organization founded in 1981 “by a group of individuals with a shared passion for helping the needy and unfortunate,” according to a description of the nonprofit in a tax filing. The organization provides various services for vulnerable New Yorkers, including home health aides for seniors and people with chronic health conditions, emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families, and English as a second language classes, according to its website. The organization also receives federal funding, according to the indictment.

In 2024, Samedy’s salary was more than $360,000 — not including an additional $13,152 he received in official compensation, according to the tax filing from that year. In the new 20-page indictment, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York said Samedy further lined his pockets through corrupt schemes. Prosecutors said he collected money through fraudulent invoices, a fake venture to invest in affordable housing, as well as bribes and kickbacks from St. Fort and Jorge.

As executive director and chair of the board, respectively, Samedy and Tirelus “exercised significant control over the operations and finances” of the nonprofit, the indictment states. Prosecutors said they used that control to subcontract with St. Fort’s and Jorge’s companies in exchange for bribes and kickbacks.

A spokesperson for BHRAGS Home Care Inc. said Samedy is on administrative leave and that the organization has been fully cooperating with law enforcement.

Federal prosecutors have been looking into whether City Councilmember Farah Louis and her sister, Debbie Louis, an aide to the governor, also helped to secure contracts for St. Fort’s business in exchange for bribes or kickbacks, according to a search warrant obtained by the Associated Press. Neither Louis was immediately available for comment.

“The Council is closely monitoring the situation based on press reports,” said Henry Robins, a spokesperson for City Council Speaker Julie Menin. “Already, every allocation of discretionary funding by a Council Member is thoroughly vetted by the Office of General Counsel, and those reviews will continue.”

Jen Goodman, an aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul, said, “Debbie Louis was placed on leave immediately upon our office learning of a federal investigation last Wednesday.”

Rhiannon Rashidi contributed reporting.

This story has been updated with additional details.