"A man accused of fleecing L.A.'s homeless services bureaucracy for $23 million was arrested at his Westwood home early Friday morning as part of an ongoing multi-agency probe into the county's multi-billion dollar efforts to tamp down encampments and bring more people in off the streets. "There was no vetting process, there was no accounting going on," said Bill Essayli, who leads the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles. "We will find out where every dollar went."
"According to the indictment against him, Soofer charged L.A. agencies to feed and house more than 600 people, then funneled the cash into a $7-million home in Westwood, private school tuition, White Lotus-style vacations, a second home in Greece and pricey Hermes goodies. To backstop his spending, officials say Soofer falsified invoices to claim he was serving fresh meals and renting out rooms while his "clients" were left with breakfast bars, canned beans and bulk packs of Ramen noodles to prepare in a microwave oven."
A Westwood resident was arrested and charged with wire fraud amid allegations he diverted $23 million in taxpayer homelessness funds to personal expenses. Prosecutors allege funds from Inside Safe and Measure H flowed through a Hyde Park program to purchase a $7-million Westwood home, a second home in Greece, private school tuition, designer Hermes goods and luxury vacations. Officials claim more than 600 people were nominally housed and fed while receiving inadequate meals. Investigators say falsified invoices and lack of vetting or accounting enabled the alleged misuse, and a federal task force continues to probe the homelessness funding.
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