LA housing manager charged over alleged $10 million misuse of homeless funds

According to Businessinsider, Alexander Soofer, manager of Los Angeles-based housing organization Abundant Blessing, has been charged with wire fraud after investigators say he pocketed at least $10 million in public funds meant for homelessness programs. The FBI alleges a "years-long scheme to defraud" the City and County of Los Angeles and other public entities, saying Soofer "fraudulently obtained" $23 million in public funding and diverted at least $10 million through bank accounts tied to other businesses in his and his wife's names.

The complaint says he paid staff "minimal wages" and fed residents "ramen noodles, canned beans, and breakfast bars" while using funds for personal luxuries, citing purchases such as $47,000 at Restoration Hardware; roughly $15,000 at Hermès and $15,000 at Chanel; $1,000 for cosmetic dermatology; $4,500 for a four-night stay at the Wynn Las Vegas; and specific Hermès items including a $2,450 men's trotting jacket, $1,250 men's Paris calf-skin loafers, $910 women's Chypre sandals, and a $455 tie.

The complaint also ties at least one property in Greece to a $475,000 check issued from an Abundant Blessings bank account. The complaint was filed on Friday, and authorities said they have yet to determine what was bought at Chanel. The Central District of California attorney's office referred reporters to a press release and did not comment, and an attorney for Soofer and the Governor's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Key Topics

Politics, Alexander Soofer, Abundant Blessing, Los Angeles, Greece, Homeless Housing