Taxpayer dollars intended to put roofs over the heads of Los Angeles’ homeless allegedly paid instead for a Tahiti vacation, a high-end nightclub, luxury vehicles and other personal expenses, federal authorities said Wednesday as agents fanned out across the city in an early-morning fraud crackdown.At the center of the crackdown is Michael Young, 46, a founder of Culver City-based nonprofit Home At Last, who received more than $118 million in public funds through government contracts, including more than $75 million from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, according to the Justice Department.Prosecutors allege Young misappropriated millions, including more than $7.5 million through a sham-vendor scheme."The days of these wire fraud experts flying on private jets, driving around Beverly Hills in Range Rovers and doing lavish things is over," HUD Secretary Scott Turner said.WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEWSOM-LINKED CHARITIES REPORTEDLY CAUGHT IN DOJ’S SIGHTSMichael Young, 46, Lakiya Malone, 48, and Donye Mitchell, 55, were charged in the federal fraud crackdown, authorities said Wednesday.
(Department of Justice)Young was one of three defendants charged Wednesday in separate federal cases targeting alleged fraud and corruption involving money intended to house and provide services to homeless Californians.Two were arrested Wednesday, while a third was considered a fugitive.FBI agents take positions outside the home of Lakiya Malone, who is charged with fraud involving federal homelessness aid programs, in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept.
16, 2026.(AP Photo/Jae C.
Hong)Prosecutors allege Young used shell companies and fraudulent billing practices to divert taxpayer money, spending more than $1 million to open and operate Six Seven Five Lounge, a high-end Inglewood restaurant and nightclub.At Wednesday’s news conference, federal officials also accused Young of spending nearly $50,000 on a luxury Tahiti vacation and $140,000 restoring a vintage Chevrolet Impala...