NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors probing public corruption in New York have charged the leaders of a homeless shelter nonprofit with stealing $1.3 million from the taxpayer-backed organization and steering contracts worth millions more to favored vendors in exchange for bribes and kickbacks, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The charges come as investigators also probe whether City Council Member Farah Louis and her sister Debbie Louis, an aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, accepted bribes related to the appropriation of city funds to the nonprofit, according to a search warrant viewed by The Associated Press.
Four people were arrested in the probe Tuesday. The sisters were not among those taken into custody.
The indictment describes multiple layers of corruption within BHRAGS Home Care Corp., a nonprofit that oversees several homeless shelters across the city, including some emergency facilities that opened in response to an influx of migrants.
Prosecutors said the nonprofit's executive director, Roberto Samedy, 50, and its former board chairman, Jean Ronald Tirelus, 50, embezzled from the organization — at one point pocketing $800,000 earmarked for “economic growth and affordable housing” in distressed Brooklyn neighborhoods.
The pair also received more than $200,000 in kickbacks in exchange for steering contracts worth millions of dollars to businesses controlled by Edouardo St. Fort and Miguel Jorge, the indictment said.
Tirelus’ lawyer, Todd Spodek, said he "categorically disputes the charges and looks forward to clearing his name at trial.”
Tirelus and Samedy were charged with wire fraud, embezzlement, and bribery-related offenses and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. St. Fort and Jorge were charged with federal program bribery and related charges, and face up to 10 years each.
Inquiries to attorneys for Samedy and St. Fort were not immediately returned.
St. Fort, who retired as a New York City police sergeant in 2023, runs Fort NYC Security, records show. Since 2023, the city has agreed to pay more than $7 million to Fort NYC Security to provide security services at homeless shelters, often as a subcontractor for BHRAGS.
The indictment did not outline any wrongdoing by others. All four of the men arrested Tuesday were mentioned in a search warrant, signed March 19, seeking communications between BHRAGS, the Louis sisters and Edu Hermelyn,
Edu Hermelyn is the husband of state Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who chairs the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
Messages left for Farah Louis, Debbie Louis and Edu Hermelyn were not returned.
A spokesperson for BHRAGS issued a statement saying the nonprofit has served New Yorkers for more than 50 years “with integrity and the highest ethical standards, and we take the allegations against Mr. Samedy seriously.”
It said Samedy is on administrative leave, with his duties handed off to the company's chief operating officer, and that the company is cooperating with law enforcement.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city would “definitely be looking into” existing contracts that the city has with BHRAGS.
The existence of a search warrant naming Farah and Debbie Louis doesn’t necessarily indicate that prosecutors plan to bring criminal charges against them, only that investigators persuaded a magistrate judge to allow them to dig deeper and seize evidence.
Nevertheless, the governor's office said Debbie Louis has been placed on leave, and a spokesperson for the City Council said the legislative body “takes any potential misconduct extremely seriously.”
“New Yorkers deserve confidence in their government,” the spokesperson said. “It is essential that the federal investigation proceed fairly and expeditiously to bring this matter to a resolution.”
FILE - New York Councilwoman Farah Louis speaks during a celebration ceremony for the refurbished George Floyd statue, after it was vandalized following its Juneteenth installation, July 22, 2021, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said nations upset by high fuel prices should “ go get your own oil ” as Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has caused major disruptions to the world’s supply of oil and natural gas, roiling global markets.
U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 as fuel prices continue to soar worldwide. The last time U.S. drivers were collectively paying this much at the pump was nearly four years ago, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Israel and the U.S. launched a new wave of strikes on Iran, hitting Tehran in early Tuesday. Iran has been launching fewer missiles than at start of the war, but it continues to deploy more low-flying drones that are harder to intercept. The conflict has killed more than 3,000 people in the region, and millions have been displaced in Lebanon and Iran.
And in Iraq, a U.S. journalist has been kidnapped, two officials in the country said Tuesday. It’s not clear if her kidnapping was related to the war.
Here is the latest:
Israel's prime minister said Israel has scored major achievements in weakening the Iranian regime and its military capabilities.
Netanyahu added that Israeli forces are systematically crushing the Iranian regime even if it still has weapons launch capabilities.
The Israeli prime minister also said that Israel hopes to soon be able to speak about new alliances in the region.
AI-Monitor, a regional news site covering the Middle East, has identified the journalist kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad as Shelly Kittleson, a freelancer who contributed to the publication. In a statement, Al-Monitor said it is “deeply alarmed” by her kidnapping.
“We call for her safe and immediate release,” the statement said. “We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.”
Kittleson has been a longtime freelancer in the region, reporting extensively from Syria and Iraq.
Iraqi officials had earlier said that a foreign journalist was kidnapped and that security forces were pursuing the captors.
The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it is tracking the reports and that the “Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans.”
In an update Tuesday evening, the Israeli military said soldiers from the Nahal reconnaissance unit engaged in close combat after militants opened fire on them overnight in southern Lebanon. With support from aircraft and tanks, the militants were killed, according to the statement.
The IDF first announced the four soldiers’ deaths at around 6:22 a.m. local time. Additionally, one soldier was severely wounded and another moderately injured.
Two Iraqi security officials said the kidnapped journalist was a woman with U.S. citizenship and that two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed and was apprehended, while the car carrying the journalist fled the scene.
The ministry did not identify the journalist or give further details on their nationality.
In a statement Tuesday, it said that security forces had launched an operation to track down the kidnappers, “acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations” after intercepting a vehicle belonging to the kidnappers that overturned as they tried to flee.
One suspect was arrested and one of the vehicles used in the kidnapping was seized, but others remain on the loose, the statement said. A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad declined to comment.
It was not immediately clear if the kidnapping was related to the Iran war.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq have launched regular attacks on U.S. facilities in the country since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Iran’s missiles continue to penetrate Israeli airspace and kill civilians. Its cheap drones slip through its neighbors’ air defenses, shattering Gulf Arab nations’ carefully curated images of invincibility and wounding U.S. troops. Its threats to attack oil and gas tankers strangle the Strait of Hormuz, sending energy prices soaring.
To maintain its leverage, Iran just needs to withstand the conflict long enough to pressure Washington to seek an off-ramp, experts say.
“Their strategy is to try to cause sustained pain and to drive up the costs of the war for the U.S.,” said Kelly Grieco, an expert in U.S. military strategy and operations who is a senior fellow at the Washington-based Stimson Center think tank.
Iran is launching fewer missiles than at start of the war, but is deploying more low-flying drones that are harder to intercept.
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Mohammadi’s legal team, accompanied by one family member, visited her in Zanjan Prison on March 29, according to a statement from the Free Narges Coalition campaign.
“Her general health was extremely poor, and she appeared pale and weak with significant weight loss,” it said in a statement, then cited her fellow inmates as saying she was found unconscious in her bed with her eyes rolled back on March 24.
“Despite this medical emergency, and evident indications of a heart attack, authorities refused to transfer Mohammadi to a hospital or allow her to visit a specialist,” the statement said.
Mohammadi has a heart condition and suffered multiple heart attacks while imprisoned before undergoing emergency surgery in 2022, her supporters say.
U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz called for a “pause” during an emergency Security Council meeting on the killings, while the United Nations figures out whether Israel or Hezbollah militants are to blame.
He said the U.N. must “fully investigate and assess the circumstances of these tragic incidents,” even as countries share in the grief.
Waltz also called for changes to U.N. peacekeeping operations, saying the council owes troops not just condolences but “a wise approach” that recognizes “terrorists have no respect for the norms of international law.”
British Defense Secretary John Healey said Tuesday that the U.S. remains a key ally despite criticism from his American counterpart, Pete Hegseth, that the U.K. had not deployed its navy to the Middle East.
“The U.S. is a uniquely close ally to the U.K.,” Healey said in Qatar. “We do things as two nations that no other militaries or intelligence services do. And my job as defense secretary is to make sure that we can, in this Middle Eastern conflict, defend Britain and British people, and we are; and British bases, and we are; and British allies and partners, and we are.”
Hegseth sniped at the U.K. for not sending warships to the region, saying at a Washington news conference that “last time I checked there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well.”
Healey announced that the U.K. is sending more missile and air defense systems to Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and extending the use of its Typhoon fighter jets in Qatar.
In a social media post, WHO’s director general said the windows in its offices in Iran’s capital were shattered after strikes in the last two days, but that no one was injured.
“Strikes impacting the operations and damaging the premises of WHO and other @UN agencies, the locations of which have been clearly identified, cannot be tolerated and must be avoided at all costs,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
A young anti-government activist in Iran says he would volunteer with the army if the United States launches ground operations, calling the country’s territorial integrity a “red line.”
“If the idea of occupying islands or part of my country’s territory is implemented, I will definitely be available as a soldier to defend the Iranian nation,” said the 25-year-old from the northern town of Babol, speaking on condition of anonymity because of fears for his safety.
The activist, who joined protests before the war, said he received a weekend text urging volunteers to join national “defense” efforts. He said he would not serve with the Revolutionary Guard, which has crushed past unrest, but would join the regular army.
Iran has seen multiple text-message campaigns urging enlistment, although it is unclear how many recruits they have generated. The country also requires military service for most men over 18, with limited exemptions.
U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said Israel “can confirm now that UNIFIL forces were hit by Hezbollah explosive devices in an incident near Bani Ayan in southern Lebanon.”
He offered condolences to their families but provided no details about the circumstances of their deaths Monday. A third UNIFIL peacekeeper was killed Sunday.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Danon accused Hezbollah of launching attacks from civilian buildings and infrastructure near U.N. positions. He said the Iran-backed militant group continues to operate freely, in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for its disarmament and the deployment of Lebanese forces across the country. The Lebanese government “has done neither,” Danon said.
Lebanon has issued condolences over the three Indonesian peacekeepers’ deaths, but neither the government nor Hezbollah have addressed allegations that the militant group was responsible.
At an emergency U.N. Security Council session Tuesday, world powers denounced the two incidents in the last two days that led to the killing of three peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, saying it’s part of a pattern of aggression towards the officers carrying out the mission.
“These are sadly not the only dangerous incidents faced by UNIFIL’s courageous peacekeepers,” Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the U.N. peacekeeping chief, said during his briefing. “There has been a worrying increase in denials of freedom of movement and aggressive behavior.”
He described several incidents in the last week where the Israel Defense Forces fired warning shots at a UNIFIL patrol and days later another patrol was subjected to heavy small arms fire “from a group of approximately 20 individuals blocking the road.”
Lacroix added that the investigation into the origin of the attacks is ongoing and it’s not clear which side was responsible for the death of the three Indonesian officers.
Earlier Tuesday, Italy and France expressed concern over the attacks against U.N. personnel and Turkey has condemned such attacks.
Players on Iran’s national soccer team used the friendly international game against Costa Rica on Tuesday to honor children allegedly killed by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes and bombardment of their country.
There were no spectators at the stadium in Antalya in southern Turkey but FIFA’s President Gianni Infantino was present at the game.
They were joined by Iran’s coach Amir Ghalenoei, Iran’s Football Federation Vice President Mehdi Mohammad Nabi and staff members, posing with the photographs of children in their hands while singing the national anthem ahead of the match that served Iran as a World Cup warmup ahead of the tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
China and Pakistan agreed to promote a five-point proposal aimed at restoring peace in the Middle East after a monthlong war.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday received his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, and both agreed on the five points they’ll pursue: an immediate cessation of hostilities, the start of peace talks as soon as possible, ensuring the safety of non-military targets, guaranteeing the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and safeguarding the primacy of the U.N. charter.
Chinese state media and Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry announced the agreement.
Both countries called on all parties to follow the proposals, but they didn’t mention any other concrete steps.
Dar traveled to Beijing as Pakistan has been acting as a mediator between Iran and the United States. The South Asian country is using its relatively good ties with both Washington and Tehran to try to help end the war.
President Trump is threatening to deploy ground troops to seize critical oil infrastructure on Iran’s Kharg Island, a military gambit experts say would risk American lives and could still fail to end the war.
If Trump wants to hobble Iran’s oil industry for leverage in negotiations, a better option might be setting up a blockade at sea against ships that have filled up at Kharg Island’s oil terminals, the experts said.
The island — located on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — is the beating heart of Iran’s oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass.
“Putting people on the ground might be the most psychologically compelling way of striking a blow at Iran,” said Michael Eisenstadt, a former U.S. military analyst who now directs the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“On the other hand, you’re putting your own troops at jeopardy,” said Eisenstadt, a retired Army reserve officer who served in Iraq. “It’s not far from the mainland. So they can potentially rain a lot of destruction on the island, if they’re willing to inflict damage on their own infrastructure.”
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U.S. stocks are bouncing back as the spike for oil prices caused by the war with Iran slows.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.2% early Tuesday. A day earlier, it closed more than 9% below the all-time high it set early this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 410 points, and the Nasdaq composite added 1.6%.
Steadying oil prices took some pressure off Wall Street. The worry is that if oil prices stay high for a long time because of the war, it could set off a brutal blast of global inflation. Treasury yields ease again in the bond market.
The Health Ministry in Beirut said Tuesday that 21 people were killed and 70 wounded over the past 24 hours.
The ministry says 1,268 have been killed and 3,750 wounded since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began March 2.
The dead include 125 children and 88 women, the ministry says.
That’s according to health officials at Nasser hospital, where the casualties were taken Tuesday.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the courtyard of Nasser hospital, the family and acquaintances of the father and his son gathered for the funeral prayer, carrying their bodies in white burial shrouds, in tears and agony.
The Gaza Strip has seen near-daily Israeli fire and strikes since a fragile ceasefire was reached in October and nearly 709 Palestinians have been killed since, according to figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of violating the ceasefire.
Gaza’s militants have sat out the current Iran conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday issued a warning against Israel “unashamedly” bombing pharmaceutical companies as part of the Iranian infrastructure the U.S. and Israel have been targeting since the war began.
“Their intentions are clear. What they’ve gotten wrong is that they’re not dealing with defenseless Palestinian civilians. Our Powerful Armed Forces will severely punish aggressors,” he wrote on X.
Speaking to military officials, minister Israel Katz reiterated that the military aims to control the area south of the Litani River — some 20 miles (about 30 kilometers) north of the border.
He said Israel will prohibit the return of 600,000 Lebanese who fled the area over the last few weeks until safety and security were “ensured” for residents of Israel’s north.
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged consistent cross-border fire since the latest flareup that began March 2. He said all homes in the Lebanese villages directly across the border from Israel would be demolished “in order to remove once and for all the threats near the border from residents of the north.”
The Indonesian government has started to implement a work-from-home policy for civil servants as an adaptive and proactive measure in response to global developments of the ongoing war in the Middle East that’s straining global supply chains, particularly in the energy sector.
“Implementing work-from-home arrangements for civil servants at the central and regional levels, with one workday per week on Fridays,” Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said in a broadcasted conference Tuesday.
The government is also implementing mobility efficiency measures that include a 50% reduction in official vehicle use, except for operational purposes and electric vehicles, and encouraging the use of public transportation.
The measure include a reduction of up to 50% in domestic business trips and up to 70% in international business trips, Hartarto said.
Recommendations regarding working from home and efficiency have also been provided to the private sector, taking into account the needs and characteristics of each business.
“At some point I will, not quite yet, but countries have to come in and take care of it,” he told CBS News in a telephone interview Tuesday. “Iran has been decimated, but they’re going to have to come in and do their own work.”
The conversation followed Trump’s social media post in which he lashed out at allies over their unwillingness to help the U.S. reopen the critical passageway. He said Iran has been “decimated” and no longer poses a “real threat.”
“Let them come up and take it. They didn’t want to give a hand to anybody. NATO is terrible, and they’re all terrible,” Trump said. “So if they want oil, come up and grab it.”
“There are countries around the world who ought be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well,” Hegseth said Tuesday, speaking at a news conference from the Pentagon. “It’s not just the United States Navy. Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well.”
In a social media post Tuesday, President Trump said nations upset by high fuel prices should “go get your own oil” as as average U.S. gas prices shot past $4 a gallon.
Members of a family who fled Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon warm themselves by a bonfire next to tents used as shelters in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Residents and Israeli security forces inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A man inspect the wreckage of an Iranian missile that landed near the West Bank village of Marda, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Iran's players sing the national anthem, holding pictures of children allegedly killed in U.S. and Israel strikes in Iran, before a friendly soccer match between Iran and Costa Rica, in Antalya, southern Turkey, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel)
A displaced man receives medical care at a temporary mobile clinic set up near tents sheltering people who fled Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike hits a building near the airport road in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Displaced children talk inside Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, now used as a shelter for people displaced by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Residents inspect a damaged house following an Iranian missile strike in Shefaram Israel, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
A woman waves an Iranian flag during a campaign in support of the government at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, is seen, as smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A displaced woman walks next to tents set up inside the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, which has been turned into a shelter for people displaced by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
