On Thursday, May 9th in federal court in Central Islip, Hui Qin, a Chinese national and billionaire listed on Forbes Magazine’s List of Billionaires, was sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment for a range of offenses including making political contributions in the names of others, immigration fraud, and producing a false identification document.
Qin, also known as “Qin Hui,” “Hui Quin,” “Muk Lam Li,” and “Karl,” a film mogul who headed the since-defunct entertainment company SMI Culture, a Hong Kong-based entertainment company. According to Bloomberg Magazine, SMI Culture develops, invests, produces, and publishes movies and TV shows. SMI also offers brokerage services throughout China.
Qin had homes in Old Westbury and Manhattan.
The sentencing marks the culmination of a case that began with Qin’s arrest seven months ago on October 2, 2023. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, along with officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), announced the sentence.
“Qin’s brazen flouting of our political and immigration systems, and his defrauding government agencies resulted in a felony conviction, prison sentence and today, his removal from the United States,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Qin has learned a lesson in American civics the hard way, that no one is above the law.”
Qin’s offenses included reimbursing others for making political contributions on his behalf, totaling approximately $11,600, which led to false contribution reports being filed with the Federal Election Commission. He also engaged in immigration fraud by filing a false application for LPR (Lawful Permanent Resident) status and obtaining a false Visa, residing in his $5 million Manhattan apartment under an illegitimate status.
Qin admitted his role in the scheme to funnel illegal campaign donations to two New York politicians, including Mayor Eric Adams. He pleaded guilty in Central Islip federal court to violating election laws by making more the straw donations not only to Mayor Adams but also to a member of the US House of Representatives in New York and to a state congressional candidate in Rhode Island.
Court documents allege that Qin agreed to pay back others who gave the money to campaign committees on his behalf from December 2021 through December 2022. However, he hid his scheme from the politicians and candidates he was trying to help, causing them to unwittingly file false campaign reports.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki
