Authorities in California have apprehended a man accused of misappropriating tens of millions of dollars designated for homeless services to bankroll his extravagant lifestyle, according to information obtained by Fox News.
The arrest occurred during an early morning raid at the suspect’s opulent Los Angeles mansion. Federal agents assert the man diverted funds to enhance his luxurious property and subsequently confiscated his Range Rover.
Images capture rows of homeless encampments lining a sidewalk under pouring rain on January 3, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
This arrest follows a warning from independent journalist Nick Shirley, who previously uncovered a fraud scheme in Minnesota. Addressing Congress, Shirley suggested the situation in California might surpass the Minnesota fraud scandal. His comments came in response to an inquiry from Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., seeking comparisons between the two states’ fraudulent activities.
“The extent of fraud in California could potentially exceed that of Minnesota,” Shirley remarked. He highlighted the disappearance of $24 billion intended for homelessness initiatives and pointed to other suspicious projects and issues indicative of fraudulent activity.
Governor Gavin Newsom addresses the media during a news conference focused on ‘New Funding for Homelessness and Mental Health Efforts,’ while also expressing criticism of President Trump’s immigration policies, in San Francisco, California, on January 16, 2026. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Earlier this month, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli dubbed Gov. Gavin Newsom the “king of fraud.”
“California has spent $24 billion in the last five years on homelessness, and no one can account for where that money has really gone,” Essayli told “Fox & Friends” earlier this month.
Richard Lopez, left, a Help of Southern Nevada Homeless Response Team lead, Rayvonte Toliver, center, and Zabrena Quinn, both of a Help of Southern Nevada outreach workers, check out homeless encampment at Mountain Vista Street and Russel Road wash, on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
In April, Essayli launched a task force to investigate corruption in California, with a focus on homeless services. The task force has already resulted in federal charges against two men accused of using real estate projects to exploit the state’s homelessness system for personal profit.
Essayli said those cases, which involve millions of dollars in alleged fraud, are only the “tip of the iceberg.”
