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Feds smash multi-million dollar homeless scheme as charity worker with shady list of ‘ghost clients’ dragged from her home

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Chapman, B. (2026, September 16). Feds smash multi-million dollar homeless scheme as charity worker with shady list of ‘ghost clients’ dragged from her home. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/16/us-news/fbi-smash-homeless-scheme-as-charity-worker-with-shady-list-of-ghost-clients-dragged-from-her-home/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-16 · by Ben Chapman

Quick Summary

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 AI on 2026-09-16, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

FBI agents arrested Michael Young, founder of the Culver City-based non-profit Home At Last, and Lakiya Malone, an employee of Los Angeles-based Special Service for Groups (SSG), on corruption charges related to misappropriation of millions in taxpayer funds meant for homeless services. Young is charged with embezzling over $7.5 million from contracts with Los Angeles County, which he allegedly used for personal expenses like opening a high-end restaurant and nightclub. Malone faces charges of accepting more than $180,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Alexander Soofer, the executive director of homeless services nonprofit Abundant Blessings, who has agreed to plead guilty separately in a $23 million fraud scheme. The arrests are part of an operation by the Homeless Fraud and Corruption Task Force aimed at rooting out corruption within the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), which coordinates housing and social services for homeless individuals in Los Angeles County.

Written for “Homelessness Charity Corruption” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Homelessness Charity Corruption
Crime & Law · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 25% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
Reason
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 67/100
New York Post
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 21 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes a raid on a charity worker involved in fraud, while Article B discusses an agency's decision to withdraw from managing homelessness programs.”
Fox News
Hedges 4 of 21 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A describes a specific raid and arrest of Lakiya Malone in Los Angeles, while Article B provides broader context on Fraud Week with nationwide enforcement actions but does not specifically mention the Malone case.”
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A describes the raid and arrest of Lakiya Malone by FBI agents, while Article B discusses broader issues related to federal charges in Los Angeles homelessness programs without mentioning a specific incident or person.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
25%
6 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-16 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15765 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ben Chapman
21 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Los Angeles Unified is working closely with Franklin High School, providing support and resources to students and staff who may be impacted by this loss,” the district said.
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🔮 Ávila Martínez is charged with using fake social security numbers to fraudulently apply for credit at retailers and online payment services, racking up at least $15,964 in debt for purchases he made using the fake ID numbers, according to court papers. He filed for bankruptcy in May of last year in an attempt to discharge the debt – and admitted in his court filing to using a phony social security number to apply for the credit, alerting the feds to his scam. Ávila Martínez was one of at least three alleged illegal migrants arrested in the wide-ranging takedown base in investigations that in the case of each suspect were triggered by the use of a phony social security number.
Also by Ben Chapman
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 21 articles by Ben Chapman →

Topics

FBI Los Angeles SSG the Homeless Fraud and Corruption Task Force the Los Angeles Homless Services Authority

Subjects

Malone PERSON · 6× Soofer PERSON · 5× FBI ORG · 3× Los Angeles GPE · 2× SSG ORG · 2× Alexander Soofer PERSON · 1× Bill Essayli PERSON · 1× Lakiya Malone PERSON · 1× the Homeless Fraud and Corruption Task Force ORG · 1× the Los Angeles Homless Services Authority ORG · 1×

Narrative

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.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-16
🔮 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.

Claims (24 extracted, 6 hedged)

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. uncertain
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!” asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
that → say → County
“We’re working our way up the chain. asserted
We → work → chain
We’re getting to those who are enabling the fraud, and not just the fraudsters themselves.” asserted
who → get → fraud
he told the California Post. asserted
he → tell → Post
“The money went to enrich these fraudsters directly.” asserted
money → go → fraudsters
“That’s where the taxpayer’s money is going — and it’s not going to the homeless,” he added. asserted
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. asserted
administration → have → agency
Malone is part of the problem, according to the feds. uncertain
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. asserted
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. uncertain
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. uncertain
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. asserted
she → tie → letters
Soofer allegedly received more than $17 million from SSG during the scheme, inflated substantially by these fraudulent referrals. uncertain
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. asserted
Malone → face → charge
Soofer Soofer has agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. asserted
Soofer → agree → laundering
He admitted in a plea agreement to his role in the bribery scheme with Malone. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. uncertain
who → seek → hall
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