LA Metro, State Workers Among 8 Charged in $177K Welfare Fraud Case

Eight people in Los Angeles County, including an LA Metro employee and a California Employment Development Department worker, have been charged with fraudulently obtaining more than $177,000 in public assistance, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Thursday.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, the eight defendants face six separate felony cases and are accused of concealing income and assets, including a rental home, a bakery business and an investment account that at times held about $1 million, while collecting CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits. The office said the combined losses total $177,233.77.

LA Metro worker, state employee among 8 charged with defrauding $177K in low-income assistance https://t.co/84kwyBYLDo pic.twitter.com/OXDaRpYBFb

— New York Post (@nypost) November 12, 2026

“Public benefits are a lifeline for struggling families, not free cash for fraudsters,” Hochman said in a statement released by his office. “While public assistance fraud is a small fraction of the total benefits distributed, even one person who takes advantage of the system is one too many.”

Public employees among those charged

The New York Post reported that prosecutors say one defendant worked for the state’s Employment Development Department, earning roughly $4,500 to nearly $6,000 a month in gross income, while allegedly claiming on benefits paperwork that she had no income or only part-time retail work. According to the Post, that defendant is accused of collecting more than $21,000 in CalFresh benefits between April 2023 and April 2025.

A second defendant allegedly kept collecting CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits after being hired by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in January 2022, the Post reported, citing prosecutors. The Post said that person is accused of receiving more than $17,600 in benefits between November 2021 and August 2022.

Homes, a bakery and a seven-figure account

The District Attorney’s Office said one Santa Monica defendant allegedly obtained about $47,060 in CalWORKs, CalFresh and housing assistance between 2019 and 2023 while holding two investment accounts with combined monthly balances ranging from about $60,000 to more than $1 million. The office said that defendant allegedly certified under penalty of perjury that her bank balances were $100 or less.

Another defendant, from San Dimas, is accused of collecting $23,255 in benefits while owning a Menifee home valued at about $611,100 and receiving $3,200 to $3,600 a month in rent from it, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors also charged a Glendale couple who allegedly obtained $29,579 in CalFresh benefits while one spouse worked full time at a local college and earned more than $165,000 during the period, and while the couple rented out a house for $4,825 a month, the office said. A Los Angeles couple is accused of collecting about $38,600 in benefits without fully disclosing income tied to a bakery, according to the District Attorney’s Office and the Post.

Charges and next steps

Each defendant faces a felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 along with multiple counts of perjury by false application for aid, NBC Los Angeles reported, citing the District Attorney’s Office. All eight have pleaded not guilty, according to court records cited by NBC Los Angeles. The District Attorney’s Office said preliminary hearing settings in several of the cases are scheduled for Dec. 11 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Hochman said his Public Assistance Fraud Division has filed more than 340 cases this year alleging about $4.8 million in government losses from fraud and perjury by benefits recipients. He credited the county Department of Public Social Services for its help investigating the cases.

Sources

• Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
• New York Post
• NBC Los Angeles
• New York Post on X

Reporting by Daily Beltway.