By Jorge Casuso
April 11, 2025 -- The Federal government this week announced it has formed a criminal task force to investigate potential "fraud, waste, abuse and corruption" involving funding for homeless programs in Southern California.
Headed by Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California, which includes LA County, the task force will "prioritize a review of federal, state, and local programs receiving federal grants and funding."
It also will "investigate fraud schemes involving the theft of private donations intended to provide support and services for the homeless population," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
“California has spent more than $24 billion over the past five years to address homelessness,” said Essayli, who was a California State Assemblymember in Riverside County before his appointment last week.
“But officials have been unable to account for all the expenditures and outcomes, and the homeless crisis has only gotten worse," Essayli said. "Taxpayers deserve answers for where and how their hard-earned money has been spent.
"If state and local officials cannot provide proper oversight and accountability, we will do it for them. If we discover any federal laws were violated, we will make arrests.”
The U.S. Attorney's Office noted that last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded more than $200 million to address homelessness in Los Angeles.
The federal government also sent $100 million in emergency aid to Los Angeles County to address homelessness during the COVID pandemic, the office said.
The task force was announced one month after a court-ordered audit found that $2.3 billion in homeless funding sent to LA County between June 2020 and June 2024 could not be fully accounted for.
The audit found that homelessness services provided by City and County of Los Angeles were “disjointed” and lacked financial controls to monitor contracts.
Earlier this month, the County Board of Supervisors took direct oversight of the functions performed by the beleaguered Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) ("County Supervisors Overhaul Homeless Services," April 2, 2025).
LAHSA, which receives $300 million a year in County funding, has failed to properly account for billions of dollars in spending since it was established in 1993, Supervisors said.
The Supervisors' move comes after "multiple audits" have found "gaping holes in accountability at LAHSA," according to County officials.
LA Mayor Karen Bass told KNX News on Tuesday that she worried the new Federal task force could “go on a fishing expedition” and target individuals who "don't deserve to be treated like criminals."
“We know the system is broken. This is nothing new,” Bass said. “The point is to fix the system, to transform the system.
"But having said that, this is going to be a complete distraction and disruption, and it's going to sow doubt amongst the public," Bass said.
The new Federal task force will be made up of federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office Major Frauds Section, the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, and the Civil Division’s Civil Fraud Section.
The FBI, HUD's Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG) and the IRS' Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) division will assist the task force.
“IRS Criminal Investigation is uniquely poised to track any funds granted through various federal programs,” said Tyler Hatcher, the special agent in Charge of IRS-CI in Los Angeles.
