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California officials have arrested Alexander Soofer, who allegedly used tens-of-millions of taxpayer dollars meant to house and feed the homeless to fund his lavish lifestyle, Fox News has learned.
Soofer was the executive director of the charity Abundant Blessings, which received government funding for its work.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said in a news conference on Friday that Soofer was charged with wire fraud, a felony that carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.
“I want to tell you a little bit about his organization, Abundant Blessings. It was a South Los Angeles-based charity whose purpose is to help house and properly feed the estimated 72,000 homeless people living in the greater Los Angeles area. His organization received more than $23 million in taxpayer funds for the purpose of housing and feeding the homeless,” Essayli said.
“California was pushing this money out quickly. A lot of money went out the door, with, frankly, very little vetting, very little checks and balances. And, he’s one of the individuals that got it in this organization,” he added.
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Essayli alleged that Soofer provided fake invoices to make vendors appear to be legitimate.
Essayli said that rather than providing the needy with “at least three healthy, balanced, nutritious meals a day,” which he was allegedly contracted to do, Soofer gave them ramen noodles and a microwave.
Soofer allegedly used the money to put a down payment on his $7 million mansion, pay for his children’s private school tuition and to purchase a $125,000 Range Rover, according to Essayli.
Essayli slammed Soofer, saying “He was living the high life while the people suffering, homeless on the streets with no shelter, no food, they’re living out on the streets. People are literally dying, and this guy is out vacationing, buying homes, buying Range Rovers and going shopping.”
Law enforcement took Soofer into custody in a pre-dawn bust at his multi-million-dollar mansion in Los Angeles. Federal authorities, who claim Soofer used the funds to make improvements on his luxury home, later arrived to tow his Range Rover.
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During a news conference on Friday, Essayli hinted that more fraud arrests would happen in the future and urged the public to be patient, as it remains an ongoing investigation.
The bust comes after independent journalist Nick Shirley, who worked to expose the fraud scandal in Minnesota, told Congress that the fraud in California could be “worse” than what he found in the North Star State. Shirley made the remark in response to a question posed by Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., about whether his state was showing similar signs of fraud to what was seen in Minnesota.
“Fraud in California might be even worse than the fraud in Minnesota,” Shirley said. When asked to elaborate, he noted the missing $24 billion in homeless funds, as well as various other projects and issues that, in his opinion, appear to signal fraud.
Earlier this month, Essayli dubbed Gov. Gavin Newsom the “king of fraud.”
“California has spent $24 billion in the last five years on homelessness, and no one can account for where that money has really gone,” Essayli told “Fox & Friends” earlier this month.
In April, Essayli launched a task force to investigate corruption in California, with a focus on homeless services. The task force has already resulted in federal charges against two men accused of using real estate projects to exploit the state’s homelessness system for personal profit.
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Essayli said those cases, which involve millions of dollars in alleged fraud, are only the “tip of the iceberg.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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