- Raids & Arrests
- Nov 5, 2026
Feds Say LA Homeless Charity Boss SPENT $1M On A Nightclub As 3 Get ARRESTED
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles say Michael Young, founder of the Culver City nonprofit Home At Last, took in more than $118 million in public homeless housing money since 2019 and used shell companies to divert millions of it. According to the charges, more than $1 million went to open and operate the Six Seven Five Lounge, a nightclub in Inglewood, along with a nearly $50,000 trip to Tahiti and a $140,000 restoration of a vintage Chevy Impala. In a second case, caseworker Lakiya Malone is accused of taking more than $180,000 in bribes for referring “ghost participants” who never lived in the housing. In a third, nonprofit head Donye Mitchell is accused of spending grant money on his own bail costs, credit card debt and PlayStation charges. A fourth man, Alexander Soofer, has agreed to plead guilty after admitting he kept at least $2 million of the $23 million he received.
So who was supposed to be watching this money?
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Presumption of innocence
How the sham vendor scheme allegedly worked The nightclub, the Tahiti trip and the vintage Impala How “ghost participants” turned into payments and kickbacks The warning the homeless services authority gave itself in May 2024, and the renewals that followed Mitchell’s earlier fraud conviction and the $6 million he was ordered to repay The court-ordered audit of $2.3 billion in homelessness spending Why the county moved hundreds of millions away from the authority What the defendants face, and what prosecutors say comes next Michael Young, Lakiya Malone and Donye Mitchell are charged, not convicted, and are presumed innocent. Special Service for Groups says it is working with federal prosecutors. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority says it has zero tolerance for fraud and is cooperating with investigators.
Sources
U.S. Department of Justice · U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California · HUD · LAist / KQED · CalMatters · Los Angeles Times · AP · ABC7 Los Angeles · KTLA 5 · FOX 11 Los Angeles · NBC Los Angeles · Alvarez & Marsal court-ordered audit · L.A. County Board of Supervisors · Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count.
