A new federal task force announced Tuesday is investigating fraud and misuse of money meant to fight homelessness. It will look into how these funds have been spent across seven counties– including San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, California has spent more than $24 billion in the last five years to address homelessness. However, much of that money reportedly remains unaccounted for, even as the crisis continues to grow.
Just last month, a court-ordered audit found that Los Angeles County’s homelessness services lacked oversight and financial controls.
Ciaran McEvoy with the US Attorney’s Office in LA said they launched the Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force after the audit.
“There’s an estimated $2 billion dollars that have gone missing. The taxpayers deserve to know where their money is going,” McEvoy said.
The SLO County Homeless Services Division did not respond to KCBX’s request for comment in time for broadcast.
The task force will investigate whether homelessness agencies broke federal laws in how they used funding. The team includes prosecutors who handle major financial fraud, public corruption and civil rights cases.
McEvoy said he is unable to share specific details about the investigation at this time.
