A single Los Angeles nonprofit now takes in more than a quarter-billion dollars a year in public money to fight homelessness, and records show it has struggled to track where some of that money actually went.
Special Service for Groups (SSG), one of more than 100 nonprofit partners funded by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), reported roughly $264 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending in June 2025. According to the organization’s Form 990 filing with the IRS, about $260 million of that — some 98.5 percent — came from government grants, including roughly $60 million in federal money passed through state and local governments.
SSG’s growth has been rapid. Public records compiled by ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer show the nonprofit received about $23 million in government grants in 2006 and $53 million in 2016. After Los Angeles County voters approved the Measure H sales tax for homeless services in 2017, SSG’s government grant revenue jumped to about $108 million by 2019. After voters passed the larger Measure A sales tax increase in 2024, SSG’s total annual revenue rose from roughly $167 million to $264 million in just three years — an organization that had $26 million in total revenue a decade ago.
A Gutted Motel
SSG now owns a former motel in South Los Angeles, purchased with roughly $8.5 million in city, state, and foundation funding, which it plans to convert into supportive housing. Six years after the city handed the operating motel over to SSG, the property sits stripped, gutted, and surrounded by a security fence, with city officials giving the nonprofit additional time to secure further funding for the project.
A Contractor Now Facing Fraud Charges
SSG also had a long financial partnership with Los Angeles businessman Alexander Soofer, who is now awaiting trial in both state and federal court on fraud charges. Prosecutors allege Soofer diverted $10 million in public homeless-services funding for personal use, including luxury travel and a $7 million house.
Reporting by the Los Angeles news outlet LAist uncovered that Soofer controlled two similarly named entities — Abundant Blessings, a nonprofit, and Abundant Blessings from Above, a for-profit corporation. Both LAHSA and SSG paid Soofer’s for-profit entity with public money for services such as transitional housing. For several consecutive years, including in its most recent 2025 filing, SSG reported to the IRS that it was passing funds to Abundant Blessings from Above as though it were a 501(c)(3) nonprofit — which it was not.
The mistake means SSG was distributing millions of taxpayer dollars annually without apparently knowing the tax status of the entity it was paying.
No Answers
The Federalist, which first reported these findings, said it made repeated attempts to get comment from SSG and LAHSA. The public relations contact listed on SSG’s website did not respond to messages, an email to SSG Executive Director Herbert Hatanaka was blocked by the organization’s email system, and a reporter who traveled to SSG’s headquarters in person was denied access.
LAHSA alone funds more than 100 nonprofit partners across Los Angeles County. SSG stands out among them: $260 million in annual taxpayer funding, an emptied motel behind a security fence, and a former financial partner now facing federal and state fraud charges.
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