Huang faced significant criticism as well. Chinese-language media speculated that Huang provided "political shelter" for real estate mogul Zhou Zhengyi, allowing the latter a free hand in the forced eviction of local residents to pave way for his company's construction projects. Zhou would eventually be sentenced to three years in prison on charges of securities fraud. The sentence, which was seen as extremely lenient by the standards of Chinese law, was allegedly due to pressure applied by Huang Ju on the city's courts. Of the 42 major construction projects in the city during Huang's tenure in Shanghai, seven was reportedly awarded to Zhou. In addition, according to "Weiquan" lawyer Zheng Enchong and a civil group representing those affected by forced evictions, Huang continued to unduly influence the proceedings of the Zhou case by impeding its further investigation.