The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a task force to investigate potential fraud and corruption involving billions of dollars of homelessness funding in Southern California. The announcement was made Tuesday by U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who was recently appointed by President Trump.
“California has spent more than $24 billion over the past five years to address homelessness,” Essayli said. “But officials have been unable to account for all the expenditures and outcomes, and the homeless crisis has only gotten worse.”
“Taxpayers deserve answers for where and how their hard-earned money has been spent,” continued Essayli. “If state and local officials cannot provide proper oversight and accountability, we will do it for them. If we discover any federal laws were violated, we will make arrests.”
The DOJ’s Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force will investigate possible misappropriation of federal tax dollars for addressing homelessness. That includes $2 billion in funds unaccounted for in L.A. County.
The investigation will include a review of federal, state and local programs that receive federal grants. The counties of L.A., Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura could all be put under the microscope.
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