A Westwood man was arrested Friday on federal charges alleging he fraudulently obtained $23 million in public money intended to combat homelessness and pocketed at least $10 million for personal luxuries, including a $7 million house, private jet travel and a vacation property in Greece.
Alexander Soofer, 42, faces wire fraud charges after federal agents arrested him at his Westwood home Friday morning. He is expected to make his initial court appearance Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.
"California is the poster child of rampant fraud, waste, and abuse of tax dollars," said First Assistant U.S. 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."
According to a federal affidavit, Soofer is executive director of Abundant Blessings, a Hyde Park-based charity that contracted with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to provide housing for people who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. By July 2023, Soofer had multiple contracts with LAHSA to provide housing and supportive services to more than 600 homeless program participants at multiple sites across South Los Angeles.
Soofer previously operated a pair of Yogurt Land franchises, including one in Santa Monica.
Between 2018 and 2025, Soofer received more than $23 million in homeless housing funding. Of that amount, more than $5 million came directly from LAHSA and more than $17 million came through a downtown Los Angeles-based nonprofit called Special Service for Groups Inc.
"California is the poster child of rampant fraud, waste, and abuse of tax dollars,..The state has facilitated the spending of billions of dollars to combat homelessness, with little to show for it and almost no oversight."
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli
Under his contracts, Soofer committed to house participants at sites he managed or pay third parties, including hotels or motels, to provide housing. Regardless of where participants were housed, Soofer committed to provide three healthy, balanced, nutritious meals daily.
But investigators say Soofer lied to LAHSA about how he was using taxpayer money, falsely stating he used it exclusively to combat the homelessness crisis when he was misappropriating millions of dollars for personal use. He also allegedly lied about payments supposedly being made to third-party vendors for homeless housing services and took steps to conceal that he was diverting money to personal bank accounts.
Investigators say Soofer made it falsely appear he was leasing properties for homeless housing from third-party landlords at market rate when he was instead paying himself above market rate and misappropriating money that could have been used to help alleviate the homeless housing crisis.
To cover up the fraud, authorities say Soofer fabricated fake and misleading invoices, at times stealing the names, addresses and logos of real companies to make payments appear legitimate.
When a LAHSA investigator asked Soofer if his charity's board knew how he was spending money, he said they did. But the investigator later learned the board was fake — some people did not exist, and others had never heard of Abundant Blessings or Soofer.
City and county investigators conducted site visits after receiving hotline complaints and noticing discrepancies in Soofer's billing and services. They found the only food items being served at sites were things such as ramen noodles, canned beans and breakfast bars — in contrast to the three-meal-a-day commitment for which the city had paid.
"Instead of providing three nutritious meals a day, this is what he was providing, ramen noodles and a microwave," Essayli said at a Friday press conference. "He was pocketing the rest of the money."
Rather than providing contracted services, Soofer allegedly pocketed at least $10 million. He used public money for a down payment on his $7 million Westwood home, millions of dollars in upgrades to that home, private schooling for his children, lavish spending in Las Vegas, private jet travel and stays at luxury resorts across the United States — from Hawaii to Florida. Soofer also appeared to use $475,000 to purchase a vacation property in Greece.
Federal agents seized Soofer's $125,000 Range Rover during Friday's arrest.
"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. "The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain dedicated to investigating and holding accountable those, like Soofer, who we contend flagrantly disregarded our laws by seeking to enrich himself at the public's expense."
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced parallel state charges against Soofer, including 11 counts of conflict of interest violations, two felony counts for providing fraudulent documentation to investigators and five counts of forgery.
"Mr. Soofer called his company Abundant Blessings. The only abundant blessings he gave were to himself," Hochman said. "He literally bought for $1,250 men's loafers lined with calfskin. For his wife, he bought for $910 from Hermès, sandals lined with goatskin, and for $2,450 he bought from Hermès a men's trotting jacket. This is how money was spent by Mr. Soofer instead of for meals and rooms for the homeless."
Hochman said the conflict of interest charges stem from Soofer's failure to disclose to LAHSA that he owned properties he claimed to be leasing for homeless housing.
If convicted on federal charges, Soofer faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The state charges carry a potential sentence of 17 years in state prison.
"Alexander Soofer is alleged to have stolen millions of dollars designated to combat homelessness in Los Angeles," said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher of IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office. "These funds were intended to support the city's most vulnerable residents."
The arrest marks the third case announced by the Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Joint Task Force, which Essayli created to investigate the billions of dollars California has spent on homelessness. In October, the task force announced arrests of Cody Holmes, whose scheme involved over $25 million, and Steven Tyler, whose scheme involved over $16 million.
Essayli said more than two dozen additional significant investigations are ongoing.
"We know the public is hungry for accountability," Essayli said. "I assure you we are working on it, but we do have to ask for a little bit of patience."
The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kerry L. Quinn and Kevin B. Reidy of the Major Frauds Section are prosecuting.
A complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.