New York City Paid $2 Million for Empty Hotel Rooms Meant for Migrants

A contractor hired by New York City to provide shelter for thousands of migrants over the past two years improperly billed the city for vacant hotel rooms, security guards and other unnecessary services, according to an audit released Tuesday.

The audit found the contractor, DocGo Inc., billed the city $1.7 million for 9,874 vacant hotel rooms during a two-month period from May to June 2023, according to City Comptroller Brad Lander. The city also overpaid $2 million for security services and spent $6.3 million on other services for which the company couldn’t provide adequate documentation, the audit found. The city should consider trying to recover $11 million of the $13.8 million it paid DocGo during the two month period, the audit found.