Federal authorities announced the arrests of two defendants among three people newly charged in separate homelessness fraud and corruption cases in Southern California.
Michael Young, 46, of Baldwin Hills, a founder of the Culver City-based nonprofit Home At Last, was arrested on a federal complaint charging him with wire fraud. Prosecutors allege that Young received more than $118 million through contracts funded by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the city and county of Los Angeles, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to the complaint, he used sham vendors, forged signatures, fake bids, and fraudulent invoices to misappropriate more than $7.5 million in public funds. Authorities allege that taxpayer money was diverted to a restaurant and nightclub, an adjacent bingo hall, luxury vacations, vintage-car restorations, and commercial properties unrelated to homeless housing. The wire fraud charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Donye Mitchell, 55, of Orange, the CEO and executive director of The Big Blue Umbrella, was separately charged with wire fraud and is considered a fugitive. Prosecutors allege that he obtained an award of more than $1.2 million from Epidaurus, which does business as Amity Foundation, by misrepresenting his nonprofit’s experience and relationship with another homelessness-services provider. Amity had disbursed approximately $315,000 before terminating the contract in May 2025. Mitchell allegedly used grant money for personal expenses including inflated salary payments, bail-bond costs, credit-card debt, family transfers, rent, and PlayStation charges.
Lakiya Malone, 48, of South Los Angeles, an employee of Special Service for Groups, was arrested on a 21-count indictment alleging that she accepted more than $180,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Alexander Soofer, executive director of Abundant Blessings. In return, Malone allegedly provided priority housing referrals, including referrals for fabricated “ghost” participants who never lived at the housing sites.
The release says Soofer received more than $17 million from Special Service for Groups during the alleged scheme, with the amount substantially inflated by fraudulent referrals. In a related case, Soofer has agreed to plead guilty to one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. He admitted obtaining $23 million in public homelessness funding overall, at least some through fraud, and pocketing at least $2 million for personal enrichment and unrelated businesses. He has agreed to forfeit his ill-gotten gains.
The enforcement action was undertaken by the Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force, which investigates alleged misuse of homelessness-related funding across the Central District of California’s seven-county jurisdiction: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.
The cases are being investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and HUD’s Office of Inspector General.
The charges are allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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