Federal prosecutors charged Michael Young, the founder of Culver City nonprofit Home At Last, with wire fraud on September 16. A criminal complaint alleges that Young used shell companies and fraudulent billing to divert public money intended for homeless housing. Young has not been convicted; a criminal complaint is an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The Justice Department said Home At Last received more than $118 million from public entities, including more than $75 million from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Prosecutors allege that Young created sham vendors, submitted fake bids, forged signatures and used fraudulent invoices to make self-dealing transactions look like legitimate third-party work. The complaint alleges that more than $7.5 million was misappropriated through this vendor scheme.
Prosecutors say more than $1 million went toward opening and operating the Six Seven Five Lounge in Inglewood, while other money allegedly financed luxury travel, vintage-car restorations and commercial property unrelated to homeless housing. LAist reported that the complaint cites a nearly $50,000 Tahiti trip and about $140,000 spent restoring a vintage Chevrolet Impala. LAHSA canceled its contracts with Home At Last in June 2026.
The same Justice Department announcement described separate new cases against Lakiya Malone and Donye Mitchell involving other homelessness-service funds. None of those newly announced charges amounts to a conviction, and each defendant is presumed innocent in those cases. The department separately said Alexander Soofer had agreed to plead guilty in a previously charged case.
