Andy Zhu Indicted in NYC Bribery Scheme Linked to Chinese Intelligence

Andy Zhu, founder of New York‑based real‑estate firm East Times Group, was arrested and indicted on fraud and money‑laundering charges for allegedly paying former Mayor Eric Adams’ chief‑of‑staff Frank Carone and his brother $120,000. The payments were intended to pressure the New York City Department of Social Services into awarding Zhu’s Microtel Inn a $6,825,000 emergency shelter contract to house migrant asylum seekers.

Zhu, a Chinese national, is also identified as an official in the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, a body used to influence overseas communities and foreign institutions. All defendants have pleaded not guilty; Zhu’s bail was set at $8 million because of his extensive foreign ties to a country that does not extradite to the United States.