Los Angeles homeless services CEO charged with defrauding taxpayers to pay for luxury lifestyle

Los Angeles homeless charity CEO arrested for allegedly diverting $23 million in public funds for luxury lifestyle

The CEO of a Los Angeles homeless services organization was arrested Friday on charges of defrauding taxpayers of $23 million meant to help people living on the streets, federal and state prosecutors announced.

Alexander Soofer, 42, was taken into custody at his $7 million home, which investigators believe was purchased with funds diverted from his nonprofit, Abundant Blessings. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said Soofer used money earmarked for homeless services to finance an extravagant lifestyle including luxury vehicles, designer clothing, and international vacations.

“He was living the high life while the people suffering, the homeless, lived on the streets with no shelter, no food,” Essayli told reporters during a press conference alongside Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.

Abundant Blessings had contracted with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), a county agency, to provide shelter and three meals daily for more than 600 homeless individuals. According to the indictment, Soofer instead diverted funds to personal expenses including a $125,000 Range Rover, a $2,450 Hermes jacket, a vacation property in Greece, and a stay at Hawaii’s Four Seasons resort, famously featured in HBO’s “The White Lotus.”

Prosecutors allege Soofer employed various schemes to misappropriate public funds. The indictment claims he falsified invoices to show he was providing fresh meals while actually serving homeless clients canned beans and bulk packages of ramen noodles. Investigators also discovered he fabricated records to conceal that he was paying himself to “rent” properties for homeless people that he already owned.

“Mr. Soofer called his company Abundant Blessings, but the only abundant blessings were the blessings he gave himself,” Hochman remarked.

Between 2018 and 2025, Soofer’s organization received more than $23 million in homeless housing funding. Of this amount, over $5 million came directly from LAHSA and more than $17 million was channeled through a Los Angeles-based nonprofit called Special Service for Groups Inc., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. None of the funding originated from the state.

The case highlights broader concerns about the effectiveness of homeless services spending in Los Angeles County, where despite billions in expenditures, the crisis persists. Although the annual homeless count released last July showed a modest 4% decrease, an estimated 72,000 people still lived in shelters or sidewalk encampments countywide.

Los Angeles County officials took action last March to assume control of hundreds of millions in spending after two scathing audits revealed that LAHSA had spent funds recklessly and without proper transparency.

Soofer faces serious legal consequences if convicted. Federal prosecutors have charged him with wire fraud, which carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. State charges include 11 felony counts of conflict of interest, two felony counts of offering false evidence, and five felony counts of forgery.

After his court appearance on Friday, Soofer was released on $1.5 million bond. He did not enter a plea and is scheduled for federal court arraignment on February 26. His arraignment on state charges has not yet been scheduled.

The case has become entangled in political disputes between the Trump administration and California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office. After conservative commentators attributed blame to Newsom, the Democratic governor’s press office defended the state’s oversight efforts, noting, “This case was uncovered by local investigators working with law enforcement — exactly the kind of accountability and oversight the state has pushed for.”

Essayli countered this claim on social media, writing that Newsom and the California legislature “facilitated this fraud by handing out billions in tax dollars to these nonprofits with zero vetting and zero state oversight.”

An email seeking comment from Soofer’s attorney, Hilary Potashner, was sent Monday but has not yet received a response.