Eight individuals have been indicted for welfare fraud after allegedly hiding over $1 million in investment assets or failing to report thousands of dollars in monthly rental income to receive low-income assistance. Among those indicted are employees of LA Metro and the California state government, highlighting how public agency workers exploited loopholes in the welfare system.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced on the 12th that eight people were charged across six felony cases for fraudulently receiving a total of $177,233 in welfare benefits by falsely reporting their income and assets.
The suspects are accused of intentionally omitting their jobs, income, and assets while applying for or renewing benefits under CalWORKs and CalFresh, which are designed for low-income families.
According to prosecutors, Nadia Daniels, an employee of the California Employment Development Department (EDD), allegedly reported having no income or working part-time at a retail store while receiving a monthly salary of $4,500 to $5,980. Prosecutors found that Daniels received $21,076 in CalFresh benefits from April 2023 to April of this year.
Nyeisha Nicole Taylor, an LA Metro employee, was also indicted for allegedly collecting $17,634 in welfare benefits by reporting she was unemployed while earning about $1,850 a month after being hired in January 2022.
The defendant with the largest alleged fraud amount identified by prosecutors is Santa Monica resident Ogi Buyan. Prosecutors stated that Buyan reported having less than $100 in a bank account while holding over $1 million in assets across two investment accounts. Buyan’s alleged fraudulent collection amount from 2019 to 2023 is $47,059.
A married couple operating a bakery in Los Angeles was also investigated for reporting no additional income after generating $115,055 in revenue through their business between 2022 and 2024. The welfare support funds they received totaled $38,630.
Prosecutors stated that they have filed over 340 criminal cases this year for fraudulent applications for public welfare benefits, with the total fraudulent amount reaching approximately $4.8 million.
LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman emphasized that public welfare benefits are a lifeline for families struggling to make ends meet, not free money for fraudsters. He added that while system abuse accounts for a small portion of total welfare payments, not a single instance of system exploitation will be tolerated.
