Camera Catches a Familiar Story
California Controller communications official Bismarck Obando appears in undercover video saying the state has a fraud problem and that audits “are not getting done,” according to the O’Keefe Media Group. He is identified in the report as the acting deputy controller of public affairs and press secretary for State Controller Malia Cohen, who serves as the state’s chief fiscal officer. The clip has the usual Sacramento flavor, which is to say it sounds like a system that found a way to turn basic oversight into a long-term project. Obando also said fraud shows up “everywhere,” naming cities, counties, special districts, hospitals, and insurance companies.
Homelessness Dollars, Little Clarity
In the same exchange, Obando reportedly said there is no statewide plan to deal with homelessness. That comes as counties and cities are asking for roughly $1 billion this year for the issue, according to the video and the report that came with it. California has spent years promising better coordination, tighter controls, and more results, which is a nice script if anyone ever plans to read it aloud after the check clears. When officials say the audits are not getting done, the public is left with the standard government mix of large budgets, soft answers, and a strong belief that paperwork somehow counts as progress.
Nonprofits Under the Microscope
The report also revisits two South Los Angeles groups, Abundant Blessings Incorporated and Urban Alchemy. O’Keefe Media Group says it found no homeless people at the shelters it visited and says both groups had faced fraud-related scrutiny. The report says Abundant Blessings received $23 million in funding and that its executive director, Alexander Soofer, was arrested on charges tied to public funds. It also says Urban Alchemy received more than $60 million in government contracts, including over $12 million through LAHSA since 2021. When grant money moves faster than oversight, the result is usually a blur, and the blur is doing a lot of work here.
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