LA homelessness fraud cases expose deeper problem than stolen millions, oversight hawk warns, tell me about this news in (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/la-homelessness-fraud-cases-expose-deeper-problem-stolen-millions-oversight-hawk-warns)

The Fox News article covers federal fraud charges involving Los Angeles homelessness programs and highlights warnings from congressional watchdogs that the scandal points to systemic failures beyond the stolen money itself.

Key Points of the Report

• The Fraud Charges: Federal prosecutors filed charges against three individualsMichael Young, Lakiya Malone, and Donye Mitchellin separate schemes involving the misuse of public funds designated for homeless services. Allegations include siphoning taxpayer dollars to fund a nightclub and an adjacent bingo hall, as well as taking kickbacks and bribes for fraudulent housing referrals. One implicated nonprofit had received more than $75 million from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).

• Systemic Oversight Failures: Representative Michael Cloud (R-Texas), speaking after a House Oversight hearing on federally funded homelessness programs, argued that the primary problem is how the government measures success. He stated that agencies judge performance by “how much money we send out the door” and program activity rather than measurable outcomes, such as whether people actually gain independence and transition off the streets.

• Critique of Program Incentives: Cloud warned that the existing structure creates a cycle of dependency where “the only people really getting upward mobility in these programs, it would seem, is the people running the programs,” effectively giving providers job security while keeping recipients reliant on public aid.

• Federal Reassessment and Policy Shift: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) moved to suspend LAHSA earlier in the year, citing deficiencies in internal financial controls and conflict-of-interest protections (an action LAHSA challenged in court). HUD leadership argued that the long-standing “Housing First” approach poured billions of dollars into programs while homelessness reached record highs, prompting a push to redirect future Continuum of Care funds toward recovery, substance abuse treatment, and tighter oversight controls.