Author: dailycastsocal

A man charged with defrauding L.A.’s homeless services system of $23 million was apprehended at his Westwood residence early Friday as part of a comprehensive investigation into the county’s multi-billion dollar initiative to reduce encampments and assist more individuals in leaving the streets. “There was no vetting process, and there was a lack of accountability,” stated Bill Essayli, who heads the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. “We will trace every dollar. Our goal is to uncover the extent of the fraud.” Alexander Soofer, 42, of Westwood, faces wire fraud charges over claims he exploited his Hyde Park-based organization, Abundant Blessings, to enrich himself with millions in taxpayer funds from Inside Safe and Measure H. Soofer has not yet submitted a plea regarding the allegations, and his lawyer, Hilary Potashner, refrained from commenting on Friday. As per the indictment, Soofer billed L.A. agencies for feeding and housing over 600 individuals while redirecting the funds into a $7-million property in Westwood, private school tuition, lavish vacations akin to White Lotus, a second residence in Greece, and expensive Hermes purchases. To justify his expenditures, officials claim Soofer fabricated invoices asserting he was providing fresh meals and rental accommodations, while his “clients” relied on breakfast bars, canned beans, and bulk packs of Ramen noodles to prepare in a microwave. When questioned about the food shortage by a county monitoring team, the indictment claims, Soofer “bolted to a McDonald’s and returned with bags of food to distribute for lunch.” “We have invested literally billions of dollars, trusting LAHSA to identify contractors that would deliver meals and shelter for the homeless,” remarked Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman, who revealed accompanying state charges from a separate investigation. “Instead of fulfilling his responsibilities, [Soofer] deceived the voters and taxpayers of L.A. County, and tragically misled the homeless.” “Mr. Soofer branded his company Abundant Blessings, but the only abundant blessings were those he conferred upon himself,” Hochman added. The arrest concludes the second significant operation initiated by a task force announced by Essayli last spring to examine potential fraud and corruption regarding local homelessness funding. In October, federal prosecutors launched their initial cases, charging two real estate executives with misappropriating millions. Even before the task force’s inception, there were escalating concerns among the public and certain elected officials that the billions allocated to combat homelessness hadn’t significantly reduced the number of individuals living on the streets. According to the annual count released in July, the number of homeless individuals in L.A. County fell by 4% last year. Approximately 72,308 individuals were living in shelters or on the streets, with 43,699 in the city of L.A. Last year, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted to withdraw county funds from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, opting to establish its own department. This decision followed two critical audits highlighting that LAHSA, a combined city-county agency, had failed to adequately monitor its funds and programs, exposing them to waste and fraud. During a press conference Friday, federal officials characterized these deficiencies as systemic within the county’s homeless services bureaucracy. One Abundant Blessings facility in a residential Mid-City neighborhood had previously drawn complaints from locals, who reported to The Times in 2024 that guests were loud and confrontational. At that time, LAHSA informed The Times that Abundant Blessings had, at one point, been contracted to provide housing for individuals transitioning from jail and prison, but that arrangement had changed. Abundant Blessings claimed that a county mental health-funded program was functioning there; however, the county mental health department indicated they had no record of such a program. In a brief 2024 interview, Soofer declined to clarify what his organization currently utilized the property for. According to the indictment, he compensated himself above the market rate to “rent” properties he already owned, fabricating documentation to suggest he paid market rate to fictitious landlords to house his clients. At one point, a hotel housing Abundant Blessings clients threatened eviction due to nonpayment, necessitating LAHSA to pay directly for the rooms, despite having already paid Soofer to rent them. If found guilty, Soofer could face up to 20 years in federal prison and as much as 17 years in state prison, according to officials. “We understand the public’s desire for arrests and accountability,” Essayli commented. “Please be patient. I assure you, justice is on the way.” Source link