The Public Assistance Fraud Division has filed over 340 cases alleging nearly $4.8 million in fraudulent payments this year 

November 13, 2026 – LOS ANGELES, CA – Eight people, including an LA Metro and California EDD employee, have been charged in six separate felony cases with fraudulently obtaining over $177,000 in public benefits from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) after allegedly concealing tens of thousands of dollars in assets and/or income, including a million-dollar rental home, a profitable bakery and an investment account with a $1 million balance.

“Public benefits are a lifeline for struggling families, not free cash for fraudsters,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “While public assistance fraud is a small fraction of the total benefits distributed, even one person who takes advantage of the system is one too many. My office has filed over 340 cases this year alleging a staggering $4.8 million in government losses because of fraud and perjury committed by public benefits recipients. To anyone thinking about lying on public assistance applications in Los Angeles County, your assets and income will be uncovered, you will be caught, and you will be prosecuted.”

View video of press conference here.

The eight defendants in the six recently filed cases are accused of repeatedly committing perjury on their public benefits applications and recertifications and fraudulently obtaining a combined total of $177,233.77 in CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits. These programs are intended to provide food, housing, employment, clothing, childcare, medical and utility assistance for low-income families.

District Attorney Hochman continued: “I thank the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services for their partnership in investigating these crimes and ensuring that critical public assistance resources reach those who need it.”

Ogi Buyan (50) of Santa Monica is accused of fraudulently obtaining a total of $47,059.77 in CalWORKs cash aid, CalFresh and Housing Assistance benefits between September 30, 2019, and August 12, 2023, while holding two investment accounts with a combined monthly balance ranging from $60,000 to over $1 million. During this time, among other alleged misrepresentations, Buyan allegedly certified under penalty of perjury in multiple applications and Eligibility Status Reports that she did not have any money in the bank and that her checking and savings accounts had a balance of $100 or less.

Buyan is charged in case 26CJCF04969 filed August 7 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and seven felony counts of perjury by false application for aid. A preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for December 11 in Department 41 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Rana Soliman (35) of San Dimas is accused of fraudulently obtaining a total of $23,255 in CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits between October 5, 2022, and August 31, 2025, by certifying, under penalty of perjury, no assets or income despite owning a home in Menifee valued at approximately $611,100 and receiving rental income from that property of $3,200 to $3,600 per month, including an initial payment of $19,850 to secure the lease.

Soliman is charged in case 26CJCF04799 filed August 3 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and four felony counts of perjury by false application for aid. A preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for December 11 in Department 41 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Jafar Abdi (67) and Adrineh Abdi (58) of Glendale are accused of fraudulently obtaining $29,579 in CalFresh benefits between May 16, 2021, and June 29, 2023, by certifying multiple times under penalty of perjury that they earned no income from employment or rental property beyond Jafar Abdi’s temporary job at a body care store. As alleged in the Complaint, Adrineh Abdi worked full time at a local college and earned more than $165,000 during the alleged fraud period. Further, the spouses owned a house in Glendale with a current market value of approximately $979,000, which the defendants rented out for $4,825 each month.

Jafar Abdi is charged in case 26CJCF03664 filed June 15 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and four felony counts of perjury by false application for aid. Adineh Abdi is charged in case 26CJCF03664 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and three felony counts of perjury by false application for aid. A preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for December 11 in Department 41 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Hasmik Hovhannisyan (40) and Hayk Grigoryan (45) of Los Angeles are accused of fraudulently obtaining $38,630 in CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits between March 3, 2023, and February 27, 2025. It is alleged that although the spouses reported income Hayk Grigorian received as an employee of a Los Angeles bakery, they repeatedly certified under penalty of perjury that they received no additional income, even though they owned the bakery and received $115,055 in corporate income between 2022 and 2024.

Each defendant is charged in case 26CJCF05380, filed August 5, with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and four felony counts of perjury by false application for aid. A preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for Grigoryan on December 11 in Department 41 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. A preliminary hearing setting for Hovhannisyan is scheduled on December 4 in Department 42 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Nadya Daniels (41) of Inglewood is accused of fraudulently obtaining $21,076 in CalFresh benefits between April 5, 2023, and April 18, 2025, by certifying multiple times under penalty of perjury that she either had no income or received income from a part-time job at a retail store, even though she worked for the State of California Employment Development Department with gross monthly income ranging from approximately $4,500 to $5,980 depending on the month.

Daniels is charged in case 26CJCF04971 filed August 7 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and five felony counts of perjury by false application for aid. A preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for November 20 in Department 42 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Nyeisha Nicole Taylor (41) of Los Angeles is accused of fraudulently obtaining $17,634 in CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits between November 6, 2021, and August 22, 2022, certifying multiple times under penalty of perjury that she was not employed even after she was hired by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority in January 2022 and was continuously employed by the county agency through August 2022, earning approximately $1,850 a month.

Taylor is charged in case 26CJCF05033 filed August 11 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and two felony counts of perjury by false application for aid. A preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for November 20 in Department 42 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Deputy District Attorney Ursula Aguiar of the Public Assistance Fraud Division is prosecuting the six cases and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services is investigating.

Stolen Identity Fraud and EBT Skimming

In addition to prosecuting individuals allegedly committing fraud under their own name, the Public Assistance Fraud Division works with DPSS to prosecute those who either 1) steal public assistance benefits from existing account holders by cloning Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards; or 2) fraudulently apply for public assistance using stolen identities.

Recent EBT Skimming Convictions:

Ioannis Alecsopoulos (28) of Lancaster pleaded no contest in October 2025 to 43 counts of felony grand theft, 10 felony counts of felony identity theft and one misdemeanor count of obstructing a law enforcement officer. District Attorney investigators apprehended Alecsopoulos during an EBT anti-skimming operation after he withdrew over $4,000 and attempted to withdraw over $13,000 from the ATM using nine different fraudulent EBT cards. Alecsopoulos was sentenced on December 23, 2025, to two years of incarceration in local custody followed by two years of supervised release. The Court also ordered the defendant to pay restitution in the amount of $111,780 to DPSS.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Jessica Palasik of the Public Assistance Fraud Division and investigated by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.

Ioaud Dorobantu (44) pleaded no contest in January 2025 to one felony count of unauthorized use of personal identifying information in case 24CJCF06188. He was sentenced to two years in county jail with 106 days of credit for time served and 106 days of good time/work time credit. He was ordered to pay $8,440 in restitution to DPSS. Dorobantu allegedly used a clone of the victim’s EBT card to withdraw $8440 in public assistance benefits from an ATM in Bellflower.

The case was prosecuted by the Public Assistance Fraud Division and investigated by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation.

Pending Stolen Identity Cases:

Sam Shahbazi (38) of Citrus Heights is charged in case 25CJCF06378 with 22 felony counts of grand theft and 22 felony counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information for stealing approximately $150,000 in Los Angeles County public benefits using the names and social security numbers of 22 victims. Shahbazi allegedly applied for and received approximately $146,474 in public assistance benefits. using false identifications with the names and social security numbers of 22 victims, then made fraudulent EBT card cash withdrawals from banks throughout California.

A pretrial hearing is set for December 9 in Department 131 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ursula Aguiar of the Public Assistance Fraud Division and remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services.

Kyle Hudson (35) and Porcha Maria Chavez (35), both of Lancaster, allegedly stole approximately $84,418 in CalFresh and General Relief benefits using the stolen identities of 31 victims. Hudson was charged in case 25CJCF02756 with one felony count of grand theft and 13 felony counts of unauthorized use of personal identification. Chavez was charged with one felony count of and one felony count of unauthorized use of personal identification.

The next court date is November 19 in Department 55 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ursula Aguiar and remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services.

Travis Alexander Johnson (41) allegedly stole approximately $63,237 in CalFresh and General Relief benefits using the stolen identities of 12 victims. Johnson is charged in case 25CJCF04064 with 12 felony counts of grand theft and 12 felony counts of unauthorized use of personal identification.

The case was filed for warrant and is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ursula Aguiar and remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services.

The charges filed in the pending cases are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Know the Law: Don’t Game the System.

The Public Assistance Fraud Division has filed over 340 cases against public assistance recipients accused of fraudulently obtaining benefits.

Felony public assistance fraud includes:

• Failing to report employment income of any member of the household
• Failing to report assets
• Claiming fictitious children
• Claiming a child who does not live in the household
• Fraudulent requests for housing assistance
• Falsely reporting stolen benefits
• Obtaining California benefits while living out of state

Report Fraud

Individuals receiving public assistance should report unauthorized charges on their EBT card to Los Angeles County DPSS at 866-613-3777, in person at your local DPSS office, or with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) at (877) 328-9677.

Anonymously report welfare fraud to DPSS at 800-349-9970 or CDSS at 800-344-8477.

Protect Yourself from EBT Skimming

Cardholders

• Check your EBT balance after each purchase.
• Change your PIN the day before your benefits become available each month.
• Cover your hand when typing in your PIN.
• Use the tap-to-pay electronic chip and only swipe the magnetic strip as a last resort.
• Download the California ebtEDGE mobile app, where you can reset your PIN, view your transactions, freeze your card, block transactions and more.

Banks and Retailers

• Ensure proper surveillance of ATMs and checkout areas to combat fraudulent activity.
• Regularly inspect ATMs and payment equipment for tampering or unauthorized devices.
• Contact the California EBT Retailer Hotline at (866) 328-4212 for support.

Source: Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office