South Los Angeles charity executive director Alexander Soofer was arrested and charged Friday with fraudulently obtaining $23 million in taxpayer funds intended to combat homelessness, while allegedly pocketing at least $10 million for himself, according to officials.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli held a press conference alongside other authorities, including Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher. During the conference, Essayli announced that Soofer was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with wire fraud, allegedly carried out through his charity, Abundant Blessings.
“California is the poster child of rampant fraud, waste, and abuse of tax dollars,” Essayli said. “The state has facilitated the spending of billions of dollars to combat homelessness, with little to show for it and almost no oversight. Thankfully, the federal government has begun auditing California’s spending and today’s is just one example of how fraudsters have swindled millions of dollars from tax papers. This money should have gone to those in need, instead in lines the pockets of individuals subsidizing their lavish lifestyle.”
According to officials, Soofer served as the executive director of the Hyde Park charity, which was supposed to house and feed the homeless in the greater Los Angeles area. Soofer contracted with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, securing multiple agreements to provide housing and supportive services to more than 600 homeless program participants across several sites.
Between 2018 and 2025, Soofer allegedly received more than $23 million in funding, with over $5 million coming directly from LAHSA. The remaining $17 million allegedly came from a city-based nonprofit called Special Service for Groups Inc., officials said.
Under some of the contracts Soofer signed, he agreed to house participants at managed sites, while other agreements required him to pay third parties, such as hotels and motels, to provide housing. In addition to housing, Soofer was also required to provide participants with three meals per day that were “healthy, balanced, and met participants’ nutritional needs.”
“But Soofer lied to LAHSA about how he was using the taxpayer money his charity received, falsely stating he used it exclusively to combat the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles, when he was misappropriating millions of dollars for himself,” the press release states. “He also lied about payments supposedly being made to third party vendors for homeless housing services and took steps to conceal that he was diverting the money to his personal bank accounts.”
Officials alleged that instead of using taxpayer money to fund the charity’s operations, Soofer used it for a down payment on his $7 million home in Westwood, millions more to renovate the property, private school tuition for his children and his $125,000 Range Rover.
Soofer also allegedly spent millions on “lavish” vacations, traveling to places such as Las Vegas, Hawaii and Florida. He later used $475,000 to purchase a vacation property in Greece, “sending this money to a Greek property developer.”
Hochman said Soofer came under scrutiny after LAHSA and the city controller conducted audits of his charity, during which officials allegedly received fake documents.
Both Hochman and Essayli emphasized that state and federal authorities would continue cracking down on fraud within the homelessness industry, as California has struggled to significantly reduce its homeless population despite billions spent on services.
Following Soofer’s arrest, Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia released a statement online, noting that the Controller’s Fraud, Waste and Abuse unit will continue reviewing other shelters.
“As a result of the FWA Unit’s investigative findings, our investigators will be conducting proactive inspections of shelter facilities to ensure that contractors are providing services in accordance with established requirements,” Mejia wrote.
“This critical oversight function is imperative as failure to meet those minimum requirements can harm unhoused residents and waste valuable taxpayer funds,” Mejia added.
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