BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced on Thursday that Julio Medina, 64, Christopher Dantzler, 49, and Weihong Hu, 59, have been charged in a multimillion-dollar fraud conspiracy tied to New York City’s emergency transitional housing program, which was designed to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in city jails.
In June 2020, Medina, the founder and CEO of a nonprofit organization aimed at assisting formerly incarcerated individuals, secured a $122 million contract from the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. This contract tasked his organization with administering an emergency housing program that would place individuals from jails into local hotels during the pandemic.
However, Medina allegedly steered approximately $51 million in public funds to businesses controlled by Christopher Dantzler of Baldwin and Weihong Hu of Manhattan, in exchange for at least $2.5 million in bribes and kickbacks. The scheme spanned from June 2020 to December 2023, according to court documents.
Dantzler’s company, which was supposed to provide security services for the reentry hotels, was unlicensed and failed to meet its contractual obligations. Despite this, his firm received about $21 million in public funds, with Dantzler personally retaining around $9 million of it.
Hu, who controlled two Queens hotels participating in the emergency housing program, was involved in securing around $12 million in public funds. Additionally, Hu operated a repurposed catering company that was given $17 million to provide meals to the program’s participants.
Among the alleged benefits, Dantzler and Hu purchased Medina a $1.3 million townhouse and financed a luxury vehicle for him, further compounding the fraudulent activity.
The charges against the three individuals highlight a systematic abuse of public funds designed to support vulnerable individuals during a health crisis. The scheme resulted in millions of taxpayer dollars being misappropriated for personal gain, underlining the need for vigilance in the oversight of public programs.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has yet to schedule trial dates, and the investigation is ongoing. The three defendants face serious charges related to bribery, fraud, and kickbacks in what is one of the largest fraud schemes targeting New York City’s emergency programs.
