The Justice Department on Wednesday announced that four people have been charged in a massive homelessness aid fraud scheme using taxpayer funds.
California prosecutors alleged that the ringleader of the scheme, Michael Young of Culver City nonprofit Home At Last received nearly $120 million in taxpayer money through government contracts.
At least $18 million of the stolen money was used for luxury homes and vacations.
The four defendants arrested and charged:
Michael Young, 46, of Baldwin Hills, a founder of the Culver City-based nonprofit Home At Last (HAL), was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging he engaged in a years-long, complex scheme to defraud taxpayers and public entities providing funding for homeless housing. Some of the affected programs were administered by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the lead agency that coordinates housing and social services for the homeless in Los Angeles County.
Young is charged with wire fraud, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Donye Mitchell, 55, a.k.a. “Danya Mitchell,” of Orange, the CEO of a Los Angeles-based homelessness nonprofit, is charged in a federal criminal complaint alleging he was fraudulently awarded more than $1.2 million in grant money from a Los Angeles County-funded nonprofit.
Mitchell is charged with wire fraud, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. He is considered a fugitive.
Lakiya Malone, 48, of South Los Angeles and an employee of SSG, was arrested on a 21-count federal indictment accusing her of taking more than $180,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Alexander Soofer, the executive director of the nonprofit Abundant Blessings, who is separately charged and has agreed to plead guilty.
In exchange for the bribes and kickbacks, Malone allegedly provided priority referrals of homeless housing participants, including “ghost” participants who never lived at the sites.
Relatedly, Alexander Soofer has agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Soofer admitted in a plea agreement filed today to his role in the bribery scheme with Malone.
He further admitted that he obtained $23 million in public money intended to combat homelessness, at least some of which he admits he obtained through fraud, pocketing at least $2 million in taxpayer money for his own personal enrichment and for businesses unrelated to homeless housing.
Full statement from Kash Patel:
Early this morning FBI agents and interagency partners conducted a raid taking down more alleged fraudsters.
These defendants are accused of diverting over $10 million in taxpayer funds for personal gain – stealing from a homeless support fund.
Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and our interagency partners, fraud no longer has a safe haven in America.
This FBI will act to hold those responsible accountable for their fraud – and today’s arrests demonstrate our continued commitment to protecting every dollar of taxpayer resources and ensuring that public funds are used exactly as intended.
Federal agents swarmed a Southern California home with their weapons drawn and arrested Lakiya Malone in an early morning raid.
Malone walked out of her home with her hands up as feds nabbed her.
WATCH:
Ad block users: Some site features may not work correctly while an ad blocker is enabled, because they break scripts and content this website depends on. If you can’t see comments below, for example, please disable your ad blocker.