The director of a Los Angeles homelessness charity allegedly siphoned millions in taxpayer cash meant to combat homelessness — and used it to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a stay at the White Lotus Hotel in Hawaii, the feds said Friday.
Alexander Soofer, 42, boss of Abundant Blessings, was accused of pocketing $23 million in public funds, lining his pockets with at least $10 million of it, according to federal prosecutors.
He allegedly used the cash to buy a $7 million mansion in Westwood, a $125,000 Range Rover and to cover his kids’ private school tuition, private jet travel and stays at luxury resorts, the US Attorney’s Office said.
“California is the poster child of rampant fraud, waste, and abuse of tax dollars,” charged First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli. “The state has facilitated the spending of billions of dollars to combat homelessness, with little to show for it and almost no oversight.”
Soofer has been charged with wire fraud for his alleged misappropriation of the money — of which $17 million came directly from Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the feds said.
“The only abundant blessings he gave were to himself,” Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said during a press conference.
Soofer allegedly billed the city for the services he failed to provide — while he was living it up in luxury resorts across the country using private jets from Hawaii to Florida.
He bought a pair of $1,250 men’s loafers lined with sheep skin and sported a $2,450 Hermes trotting jacket.
Soofer even appeared to buy a $475,000 vacation property in Greece and used stolen capital to make home improvements to his multi-million dollar pad in Westwood, authorities said.
All while, Soofer organization touted its noble mission as, “to provide the best crisis housing facilities to homeless and low-income families in L.A.”
“We seek to employ the most qualified staff available,” a page on the website Charity Navigator states, while also giving the nonprofit a one star rating for “Accountability and Finance.”
“Soofer allegedly prioritized his own greed over decency and respect for the laws of our country,” said Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
In certain contracts, Soofer agreed to pay hotels and motels to put up those in need, and in others, he said he would provide housing at sites he personally managed.
The alleged scheme included leasing properties for homeless housing from landlords at a market-rate and then paying himself above market rate for the same housing, the feds said.
Soofer also said he’d provide three healthy meals a day that were “balanced, and met participants nutritional needs,” according to the feds.
But after hotline complaints trickled in, investigators found that he was instead serving up Ramen noodles, canned beans and breakfast bars to those in need.
Essayli said the federal government was auditing California’s spending and that the case against Soofer was “just one example of how fraudsters have swindled millions of dollars from taxpayers.
“This money should have gone to those in need,” he said.
The multi-millions that Soofer re-purposed were part of Measure H, which voters supported and passed in 2017 that raised sales tax by a quarter-cent to fund homelessness services, mental healthcare and prevention programs. The measure generates around $355 million each year for such programs.
A recent post on the Abundant Blessings Instagram page states: “Who are we as human beings if we ignore the suffering of others?”
“Enjoy prison Alexander Soofer,” a comment under the post read.
Another commenter said, “when placed in housing they put me in a worse situation then what I started.”
Authorities cuffed Soofer at his $7 million home on Friday morning without incident.
If convicted of both the federal and state charges he also faces, Soofer could get locked up for a total 37 years.
“Mr. Soofer will not be unhoused. He actually will receive housing, a good room in a state prison and a federal prison,” said Hochman.
https://nypost.com/2026/01/23/us-news/la-charity-head-accused-of-stealing-23-million-in-pubic-funds/
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