A Westwood man who is the executive director of a Hyde Park-based charity that received public funding to provide housing and meals for people experiencing homelessness pleaded not guilty Monday to state charges alleging he defrauded the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority of more than $5 million.
Alexander Soofer, 42, is charged with 11 felony counts of conflict of interest, five felony counts of forgery and two felony counts of offering false evidence, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors allege $2 million of the LAHSA money went toward Soofer’s properties or was accounted for through allegedly fraudulent invoices.
The conflict-of-interest charges stem from contracts between LAHSA and Abundant Blessings that expressly stated Soofer could not own the properties used to house homeless residents or subcontract with himself or family members with a financial interest in the properties or the companies providing services, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said the funds at issue were earmarked for programs including Youth Homelessness, Bridge Housing, Winter Shelter, Home Safe, Inside Safe and others.
Soofer is also accused of failing to provide shelter and nutritious meals under his contractual obligations and of submitting allegedly fake subcontractor invoices to LAHSA that used the names of real companies, according to the District Attorney’s Office and court papers.
Soofers next court date in the state case is March 9. He could face up to 17 years and six months in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.
Soofer is charged separately with wire fraud in a federal case and is set to be arraigned Feb. 26. Federal prosecutors said he could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted of that charge.
According to an affidavit filed with the federal complaint, Soofer is the executive director of Abundant Blessings and, through the charity, contracted with LAHSA to provide housing and meals for people who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The affidavit says that in some contracts Soofer agreed to house participants at sites he managed, and in others he expressed plans to house people at hotels or motels while providing three nutritious meals a day.
Federal prosecutors allege Soofer lied to LAHSA about how the charity’s money was being used and instead misappropriated millions for himself, including by claiming payments were being made to third-party vendors for housing services while the money was actually diverted to his personal bank accounts. Prosecutors also allege he claimed to be leasing properties for homeless housing from third-party landlords at market rate, when he was instead paying himself above market rate.
In response to complaints and discrepancies in Soofer’s billing documents, investigators conducted site visits and found the only food items being served at the sites were items such as ramen noodles, canned beans and breakfast bars, according to court papers.
Federal prosecutors allege Soofer pocketed at least $10 million and used public money for a down payment on his Westwood home and upgrades, private schooling for his children, trips to Las Vegas, private jet travel and stays at luxury resorts from Hawaii to Florida. They also allege he used $475,000 to purchase a vacation property in Greece by sending money to a Greek property developer.
“The only abundant blessings he gave were to himself,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement.
Published in partnership with the Westside Current