US Attorney vows to crack down on California homeless funding fraud after stunning White House action

Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor promised a vigilant eye over homeless fraud after a federal body cut off funding to the city agency responsible for coordinating billions in homelessness spending.

The newly created Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, led by Vice President JD Vance, said “the fraud and corruption ends today” as it wiped out federal cash flow to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli cheered the move Thursday, and said he would continue to investigate and prosecute fraudulent use of homelessness funds.

“The betrayal of public trust at the expense of L.A.’s most vulnerable is shameful and illegal,” Essayli said. “The federal government will no longer bankroll incompetence and criminality at the expense of taxpayers and those in need.”

The Trump administration said the homeless services authority has had “wanton mismanagement” after nearly $1 billion in federal money flowed to the organization since 2021. Essayli highlighted the work of his Homeless Fraud and Corruption Task Force to show that the fraud is real.

He pointed to the case of Alexander Soofer, boss of homeless charity Abundant Blessings, who was accused of pocketing $23 million in public funds and lining his pockets with at least $10 million of it, according to federal prosecutors.

Soofer allegedly bought a $7 million mansion in Westwood, a $125,000 Range Rover, his kids’ private school tuition, private jet travel and stays at luxury resorts, the US Attorney’s Office said. All the while, Soofer fabricated invoices, lied about vendor payments and created a fake board.

That alleged fraud has real consequences, said Essayli.

“While the City of Los Angeles and LAHSA paid for safe shelter and three nutritious meals a day, residents got little more than ramen and canned beans,” he said.

LAHSA has had its own share of issues, according to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The housing agency’s CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum stepped down last year after it was revealed that $2.1 million in federal funds overseen by LAHSA had been directed to a nonprofit organization that employed her husband.

HUD also claimed that LAHSA could not verify the existence of nearly 2,300 housing sites under its oversight and that approximately 70% of contracts tied to those sites showed no reported expenses.

Essayli said his task force has “already made significant arrests in this space.”

“The Trump Administration is committed to accountability and results for taxpayers when it comes to homelessness funding,” he said.