Kathy Hochul received $55,000 in campaign contributions from social adult daycare centers (SADCs) in fraud-plagued Flushing, Queens, records show.
Almost half of those donations can be linked to two men: local powerbroker Baoli Zhang, and Jiemin Shang — who own two of Flushing’s biggest daycare businesses, both of which were empty of patients when visited by The Post last week.
Zhang, 69, personally donated $10,000, as well as another $5,000 through his Bao Kang Adult Day Care, financial disclosures show. Zhang’s various businesses have claimed at least $32 million from Medicaid since 2018, on behalf of tens of thousands of patients.
Shang runs Livingwell Day Care, which donated $5,000 to Hochul in 2022, the same year it billed $5.8M to Medicaid. Another $5,000 came from Finest Adult Day Care, which Shang also runs.
“In 2021, [social adult daycare centers] were dying due to COVID. Someone threw them a lifeline and must have said something like, ‘Take care of me, I’ll take care of you.’ They’re making more money than ever now,” an industry source claimed to The Post.
Federal figures back this up. Business has exploded at Livingwell, which billed $114,000 in 2018, a number that increased to $8.05 million in 2024. Bao Kang went from claiming $1.5M in 2018 to $7.22M by 2024. Monthly revenue for daycares across Flushing overall has nearly doubled compared to pre-pandemic numbers.
Only nine of the city’s nearly 400 SADCs made contributions over $5,000 to Hochul’s first gubernatorial campaign in 2022. Those same nine businesses accounted for billing Medicaid for an eyepopping $49 million in 2022, The Post’s investigation found.
Zhang is also founder of the Asian American Adult Daycare Association (AAADA), a nonprofit formed in 2023 as an industry advocacy group, while Shang is secretary-general.
Zhang, who grew up in Beijing, is a big name in the community as he is also a world-renowned musician, described as a “master” of the erhu—a two-stringed Chinese musical instrument played with a bow—performing at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and The Jiulliard School, according to Chinese media.
Zhang was a child prodigy, entering a prestigious Beijing music conservatory at age nine. Before long, he was selling CDs and cassettes of his solo erhu performances to audiences across Asia and the US.
However, in recent years, he has concentrated on growing his SADC businesses.
His involvement is opaque. While he listed himself as the owner and manager of Bao Kang on campaign finance disclosure records, both local and federal Medicaid data list other individuals as the owners.
Zhang also owns Confucius Social Daycare Center in Manhattan’s Chinatown, which billed Medicaid $15.7 million between 2018 and 2024; Silver Arch Management and AA Plus Management Inc. The latter is a “point of service” Medicaid provider that has billed taxpayers $2.65 million, according to federal data.
The SADCs in this story have not been accused of wrongdoing, nor have Zhang or Shang — who did not respond to The Post’s numerous attempts at outreach for comment.
According to a 2022 Chinese language news report on the topic of recent fraud busts in Flushing, Zhang warned at an event against greed and “excessive consumption” within the community.
He said, in statements translated from Chinese: “The New York State government is very generous to its residents. Whether it’s home care, daycare, or medical assistance, it is one of the states with the best welfare in the United States.
“The elderly should cherish their current benefits and living environment; excessive consumption will only deprive their descendants of resources.”
The same Baxter Street building in Manhattan’sChinatown which Zhang lists as his business address is home to another SADC which donated to Hochul’s campaign, Cathay Adult Daycare, which sent the governor $5,000 in 2022 — the same year it billed Medicaid for $8.4 million.
Zhang is not listed as the owner of Cathay Adult Daycare and it’s unclear if he is connected to it.
The Post’s previous reporting and federal raids have shown SADCs have become epicenters for Medicaid fraud, claiming money for seniors they are not treating and in some cases giving them kickbacks of the federal money they receive.
This has happened in a number of communities, including among Coney Island’s Pakistani diaspora as well as Chinatown in Manhattan and Flushing, where 77 centers are packed into the district.
The New York State Department of Health told CBS News it has referred 387 SADCs for investigation since 2021, a third of which were then sent to the of the Attorney General for legal action.
The 2022 event where Zhang spoke was also attended by US congresswoman Grace Meng (D) of Flushing and state senator John Liu (D), Chairperson of New York City Education Committee.
Liu told The Post in a statement: “Mr. Zhang is a longtime respected leader in the community, and I am proud to have had his support for decades.
“I have made visits to several adult daycare centers in past years, each time seeing large numbers of senior citizens engaged in services and activities. If fraud and impropriety are suspected at any facilities, full investigations and prosecutions should be undertaken.”
Zhang has donated $7,800 to Meng and $4,950 to Liu, according to campaign disclosures.
The source said local politicians find the centers handy to pick up votes.
“A lot of the local politicians are using these guys,” a source who has spent decades around the daycare industry in Flushing told The Post.
“If you get 100 people in there and you make them vote, it’s very powerful for a primary. Every politician goes to these daycares for help.”
The Empire SADC which hosted the event where the politicians spoke is another which Zhang claimed to own on campaign finance forms, and was credited as his operation in local reports, however city and federal data lists two other owners.
The other daycares to contribute to Hochul’s campaign in 2022 were: American Adult Daycare Center, Big Apple Adult Daycare, Blue Sky Adult Daycare, Greater New York Social and Health Adult Daycare — all in Flushing — and Brooklyn’s Jy Adult Social Daycare, which each cut $5,000 checks.
The spokesperson also noted: “Political contributions have no influence on government decisions.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.