Chinese billionaire film mogul admits funneling illegal donations to NY pols, including Mayor Adams

A Chinese billionaire admitted to his role in a scheme to funnel illegal campaign donations to two New York politicians — including Mayor Eric Adams, according to a report.

Hui Qin, 56, pleaded guilty in Central Islip federal court Monday to violating election laws by making more than $10,000 in straw donations not only to an unnamed Big Apple candidate, whom a person familiar with the case identified as Adams, according to the New York Times, but also to a member of the US House of Representatives in New York and to a state congressional candidate in Rhode Island.

Qin, a film mogul who headed since-defunct entertainment company SMI Culture, agreed to pay back others who gave around $11,600 to campaign committees on his behalf from December 2021 through December 2022, court documents allege.

But Qin, who was previously featured on Forbes’ list of billionaires with a worth of $1.8 billion, hid his scheme from the politicians and candidates he was trying to help, causing them to unwittingly file false campaign reports, the feds claim.

Qin, who has homes in Manhattan and in Old Westbury, Long Island, donated $2,000 to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign in March of that year, according to campaign finance records.

Then nine months later, Qin started looking for “individuals to make more than $10,000 in straw donor contributions,” to a Big Apple candidate, who was not identified, court papers allege.

On Dec. 9, one person donated $1,000 on Qin’s behalf and the next day Qin met with a co-conspirator who said he would be able to get $20,000 in straw donations for the candidate, the feds claim.

In 2022, Qin donated $2,900 to the campaign of Republican former Cranston mayor Allan Fung, in his failed bid for a seat in Rhode Island’s Congress, according to records from the Federal Election Commission.

Jonathan Chau, who donated $1,000 to Adams’ transition committee on Dec. 9, 2021, also gave $5,800 to a committee for Fung and another $2,900 to a committee for Long Island Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), records show.

Qin also copped to filing a false application for permanent residency status in 2019, when he claimed he had no other aliases. In reality, he’d obtained a Hong Kong ID and passport and a Chinese ID under the name “Muk Lam Li” that contained his photo but a different birthday, prosecutors alleged.

He used the Li alias to bring $5 million into the US from China, in part to help him buy a luxury apartment in Manhattan, court papers claim.

Qin also admitted to traveling to Florida to get a driver’s license, claiming he lived in Miami and submitting false bank and credit card statements under the name “Hui Quin,” the feds claimed.

“Qin pleaded guilty today to engaging in a brazen web of deception, spreading lies to federal
election and immigration authorities and a state agency,” Brooklyn US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement Monday.

“Ensuring election integrity and rooting out campaign contribution fraud are priorities of the Department of Justice, including my Office.”

As part of his plea agreement with the feds, Qin — who is in the US on a green card — will be deported and give up his US residency status.

Qin, who’s been in jail since his Oct. 2 arrest for using a fake ID, faces up to 27 years behind bars at this May 14 sentencing.

Adams, who is facing a federal investigation over fundraising practices, admitted at a City Hall press conference Tuesday that he met Qin on the campaign trail but said the scheme was carried out “without the campaign’s knowledge.”

“He was one of those people I met on the campaign trail,” Adams said. “It is very clear that we had no coordination in this matter.”

“We need to take money out of politics,” he added.

Garbarino similarly said he didn’t know about Qin’s plot.

“I had no prior knowledge of the origin of the contribution or scheme,” the congressman said in a statement. “In the wake of this news, my campaign will be donating the amount to a local charity in my district.”

Vito Pitta, an attorney for Adams, told The Post in a statement: “As the federal government made clear, the campaign had no knowledge of a straw donor scheme — and no member of the campaign has been charged with or accused of any wrongdoing.”

The Democratic New York City mayor is facing a federal probe over whether he conspired with the Turkish government to make illegal contributions to his 2021 campaign and had his cellphone taken by the feds last year.

One of his top aides, Winnie Greco, had her homes raided by the feds earlier this month and two other aides of his faced raids previously.

Qin was also arrested by Nassau police in September for allegedly trying to attack his wife, with whom he lived at the time, as she was slated to testify in a Manhattan federal civil case, the Times reported.

During the incident, Qin allegedly tried to take down a locked door with an ax. Months earlier, he allegedly tried to strangle his wife, the outlet reported.

In the Manhattan federal civil case against him, a Chinese investment group was seeking to enforce a $450 million arbitration award he owed them, according to the report.

After arbitration began in China, Qin allegedly transferred his Long Island home to his ex-wife and ex-mother-in-law for just $10, the Times reported.

Qin’s lawyer declined to comment Tuesday morning. Fung didn’t immediately return a request for comment Tuesday. Contact information could not be found for Chau.

With Post wires