Federal agents raided the South Los Angeles home of charity worker Lakiya Malone as part of an ongoing operation targeting fraud within homeless services in Los Angeles. The raid came more than seven months after federal charges were filed against Alexander Soofer, who is accused of stealing $23 million meant for homeless assistance. Malone faces a 21-count indictment charging her with receiving over $180,000 in bribes from Soofer in exchange for prioritizing his organization’s referrals, including fake “ghost clients.” She could face up to 20 years per wire fraud count among other charges.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-16,
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same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
FBI agents conducted a raid on Lakiya Malone's home in South Los Angeles early one morning, arresting her on charges of taking over $180,000 in bribes. Malone, 48, worked for SSG, an organization involved with homeless services. The arrest came more than seven months after the federal government charged Alexander Soofer, 42, executive director of the nonprofit Abundant Blessings, with stealing $23 million meant for the homeless population in Los Angeles County. According to a 21-count federal indictment, Malone is accused of receiving bribes from Soofer to allocate funds improperly. The arrest is part of an ongoing effort by the Homeless Fraud and Corruption Task Force led by Bill Essayli, aimed at curbing fraud within the lead agency coordinating housing and social services for the homeless in Los Angeles County.
Written for “Charity Fraud Investigation” on 2026-09-17,
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Leaning score +0.35 for article 13623 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-16
A charity worker who allegedly took massive bribes in exchange for pouring millions of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of a corrupt homeless service bigwig was busted by the feds in a sweeping operation that targeted infamous homeless services fraud in that’s crippling Los Angeles.
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that → take → Angeles
FBI agents in a dramatic raid swarmed the South Los Angeles home of Lakiya Malone before dawn, pounding on her door and yelling for her to “come out!”
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her → swarm → door
As the SSG worker emerged, she was placed in handcuffs by men in Kevlar vests, while others trained rifles on her house.
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others → emerge → house
FBI agents collared Malone, 48, more than seven months after the federal government charged charity leader Alexander Soofer, 42, with stealing $23 million in public funds meant for the needy.
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government → collar → needy
And while agents stuffed her into a silver sedan, other FBI men were hot on the trail of two other suspects caught up in a sweeping operation meant to root out fraud at the Los Angeles Homless Services Authority.
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men → stuff → Authority
Top Los Angeles prosecutor Bill Essayli said the Homeless Fraud and Corruption Task Force he’s leading will stop at nothing to root out massive fraud at the lead agency that coordinates housing and social services for the homeless in Los Angeles County.
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that → say → County
“We’re working our way up the chain.
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We → work → chain
We’re getting to those who are enabling the fraud, and not just the fraudsters themselves.”
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who → get → fraud
he told the California Post.
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he → tell → Post
“The money went to enrich these fraudsters directly.”
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money → go → fraudsters
“That’s where the taxpayer’s money is going — and it’s not going to the homeless,” he added.
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he → ’ → homeless
The LAHSA has had recurring problems with corruption and late payments to nonprofit providers – things the Trump administration has named as its motivation for suspending federal funds to the joint city-county agency.
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administration → have → agency
Malone is part of the problem, according to the feds.
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Malone → accord → feds
She is charged in a 21-count federal indictment that accuses her of taking more than $180,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Soofer, the executive director of the homeless services nonprofit Abundant Blessings, who is separately charged in a massive fraud scheme and has agreed to plead guilty.
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who → charge → scheme
In exchange for the bribes and kickbacks, Malone allegedly provided priority referrals of homeless housing participants to Soofer’s organization, including “ghost” participants who never lived at the sites.
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who → provide → sites
According to the indictment, Soofer paid her through checks made out to her and an entity she controlled, Grateful Hearts Realty & Consulting, disguising the payments as consulting fees.
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she → accord → fees
In reality, the payments were tied to the number of referrals Malone sent and to “ghost clients” whose files she helped fabricate with fake welcome letters, forged sign in sheets, and falsified eligibility forms.
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she → tie → letters
Soofer allegedly received more than $17 million from SSG during the scheme, inflated substantially by these fraudulent referrals.
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Soofer → receive → referrals
Malone faces up to 20 years per wire fraud count, 10 years per bribery count, and five years on a conspiracy charge.
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Malone → face → charge
Soofer Soofer has agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
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Soofer → agree → laundering
He admitted in a plea agreement to his role in the bribery scheme with Malone.
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He → admit → Malone
He further admitted that he obtained $23 million in public money intended to combat homelessness, at least some of which he admits he obtained through fraud, pocketing at least $2 million in taxpayer money for his own personal enrichment and for businesses unrelated to homeless housing.
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he → admit → housing
Soofer has agreed to forfeit his ill-gotten gains to the U.S. government and is expected to plead guilty to the felony charges in the coming weeks.
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Soofer → agree → weeks
Federal agents on Wednesday also sought the capture of two other corrupt homeless services execs, including one who allegedly blew $12 million in taxpayer cash meant for the homeless on lavish toys including a bingo hall and a nightclub.
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who → seek → hall
The Aporia
