The subsidiary of a Chinese-based real estate company has agreed to pay $1,050,000 to resolve a federal investigation into its involvement in a bribery and fraud case, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
In a deal struck with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, Jia Yuan USA Co. Inc. will pay the financial penalty and continue cooperating with the federal government in its probe of Councilman José Huizar and other figures, according to a copy of the agreement. In exchange, the government agreed not to pursue criminal charges against the company.
In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it had decided not to prosecute because company officials had taken responsibility for its conduct in a “timely” way, fired a real estate consultant who later pleaded guilty in the corruption probe and cooperated with investigators. The agreement does not prevent prosecutors from charging individuals who work at Jia Yuan USA or its Chinese parent company, Shenzhen Hazens.
Jia Yuan USA, based in Arcadia, was set up to redevelop the Luxe City Center Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, replacing the existing nine-story hotel with a new, much taller hotel and residential towers.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.
