Lakia Malone and Michael Young Charged in $10 Million Los Angeles Homeless Fund Fraud Scheme
Federal authorities arrested two people in Los Angeles this morning in connection with a scheme that diverted more than $10 million in taxpayer funds from a homeless support program. Lakia Malone, 48, and Michael Young face separate charges for stealing money meant to shelter vulnerable people and spending it on personal luxuries.
Malone worked for an entity called SSG, which was responsible for distributing homeless funds. Federal investigators say she accepted more than $180,000 in bribes and kickbacks. In exchange, she enrolled so-called ghost participants—individuals who were not actually homeless—onto attendance sheets at nonprofit facilities. These fabricated entries allowed fraudsters to claim government reimbursements for services never rendered. Malone is accused of directing others to lie about their housing status and of enabling known fraudsters to receive payments for nonexistent care.
FOOTAGE OF FRADUSTER ARREST RELEASED: $10M STOLEN
This morning in Los Angeles, CA arrests were made: "these defendants are accused of diverting over $10 million in taxpayer funds for personal gain – stealing from a homeless support fund."
Reports list the money was used for…
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) September 16, 2026
Michael Young is charged with routing millions of dollars from the same Los Angeles homeless assistance funds through shell companies. Prosecutors allege the proceeds financed a Tahitian vacation, the refurbishment of a vintage car, and the construction of a nightclub. The indictment describes these expenditures as direct diversions of public money meant for shelter and support services.
The arrests highlight a pattern of abuse within programs that channel large sums of taxpayer dollars through nonprofit intermediaries with limited oversight. Funds earmarked for the homeless instead supported private gain, underscoring how such initiatives can become vehicles for fraud when accountability is weak. Officials described the operation as a deliberate effort to siphon resources away from their stated purpose.
This is the latest development in a growing scandal over Los Angeles homelessness spending. President Donald Trump’s administration previously cut off tens of millions of dollars in federal funding to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA, after a probe found the agency lacked sufficient financial controls. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has refused to testify before a House committee examining the fraud, calling the hearings a “dog and pony show.”
The scale of the fraud in Los Angeles is staggering. Earlier reports indicated roughly one billion dollars in fraud and mismanagement within the city’s homelessness initiatives. A federal fraud-fighting team sent to California by the Trump administration has already arrested twelve people in connection with various schemes this week alone. One official walked out of a meeting and announced that LAHSA had seventy-five million taxpayer dollars unaccounted for.
The allegations against Malone and Young are straightforward: they treated public money as a personal slush fund while homeless people slept on the streets. Malone’s position at SSG was quasi-governmental, a position of trust. Instead of helping the needy, she helped fraudsters steal from them. Young’s shell companies concealed the diversion of millions, funding a lifestyle most taxpayers can only dream about.
No additional details on further indictments or recovered assets have been released at this time. The case centers on the core accusation that public money allocated for one of the most visible social challenges in California was systematically redirected for individual profit.
The real victims here are the homeless people who never received the services they were promised. The second victims are the taxpayers who funded this boondoggle. Until officials like Karen Bass face real consequences and nonprofits are subjected to rigorous audits, this will keep happening. The arrest of Malone and Young is a start, but it is not enough.
Sharp closing takeaway: The Los Angeles homeless industrial complex is a racket, and today’s arrests are just the tip of the iceberg. Until we stop writing blank checks to unaccountable nonprofits, your tax dollars will keep funding Tahitian vacations instead of shelter beds.