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n November 2022, L.A.-based Shen Zhen was convicted of three counts of honest service wire fraud, four counts of interstate and foreign travel in aid of bribery, and one count of bribery. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld 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.
Shen Zhen's owner, Wei Huang, 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 strategy was to "give, give, give" so 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 argued that the government's failure to establish an agreement between the parties or any official action by Huizar tainted all of the counts against the company.
Although indicted along with Shen Zhen, Huang remains a fugitive in China. Shen Zhen bought the L.A. Grand Hotel in 2010 for $63 million, planning to turn the 13-story hotel into a 77-story mixed-use tower.
Early this year, Huizar 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, were found guilty of bribery. Huang provided Huizar with $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 Huizar's 2015 re-election campaign.
Former Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan 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.
