Los Angeles homeless agency approved $3.5 million for high-risk nonprofit despite compliance warnings
Gamed · Friday, 11 September 2026
Why it matters
The case provides a documented example of procurement and oversight controls failing at a public homelessness agency: funds were approved despite an internal high-risk classification, and federal auditors found an eight-month reporting delay. The proposed transfer of county funding and the agency's new cross-department flagging procedures show that the response is moving from an individual fraud case toward institutional accountability and redesign.
What happened
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority approved at least $3.5 million in 2024 contracts for Abundant Blessings after its compliance team flagged the nonprofit as high risk and cited significant concerns; records also show it continued billing one contract despite having no enrolled participants for rental assistance. Federal auditors found that LAHSA took about eight months to notify funders after receiving credible evidence of possible crimes, despite a legal requirement for prompt disclosure. Prosecutors charge that nonprofit leader Alex Soofer diverted at least $10 million in homelessness funds to personal and business expenses; he has pleaded not guilty. LAHSA says it has reorganized its departments and added procedures to flag high-risk providers across the agency, while county officials seek control of county homelessness funding and federal officials announced a suspension of federal dollars that a judge temporarily paused.
Previously
2026 — Federal officials announced a suspension of federal dollars to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and a judge temporarily paused the suspension.(LAist)
Players & places
- United States
- Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
- Abundant Blessings
- Los Angeles County
- Alex Soofer