Los Angeles County prosecutors charged eight individuals on Thursday with allegedly defrauding public assistance programs of more than $177,000, a group that includes employees from both the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the state Employment Development Department.
The defendants face felony counts of aid by misrepresentation and multiple counts of perjury. Officials claim the individuals consistently falsified their benefit applications and renewal forms for CalWORKs and CalFresh, programs designed to assist low-income households with essential needs such as food, medical care, housing, employment services, clothing, child care, and utilities.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman framed the crackdown as a matter of preserving limited resources for those in genuine need. “Public benefits are a lifeline for struggling families, not free cash for fraudsters,” Hochman said in a statement. “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.”
Defendants Allegedly Certified False Income to Collect Benefits
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the defendants repeatedly certified under penalty of perjury that they met income requirements, even as their personal bank accounts or pay stubs suggested otherwise.
Nyeisha Nicole Taylor, 41, allegedly collected more than $16,700 in benefits between November 2021 and August 2022. Prosecutors claim she maintained these benefits even after securing a position with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in January 2022, where she earned approximately $1,850 per month.
The case of Nadya Daniels, 41, involves a state-level employee allegedly bypassing the very system she may have been familiar with. Daniels is accused of receiving just over $21,000 in CalFresh benefits between April 2023 and April 2025. During this period, she allegedly certified that she was either unemployed or working part-time at a retail store, despite earning a gross monthly income of between $4,500 and nearly $6,000 through the state’s Employment Development Department.
Defendants Allegedly Hid Investment Accounts and Property
Other defendants are accused of utilizing more complex methods to hide their financial status. Between September 2019 and August 2023, Santa Monica resident Ogi Buyan, 50, allegedly secured over $47,000 in Housing Assistance, CalFresh, and CalWORKs cash aid. During that time, records show Buyan held two investment accounts with a combined monthly balance ranging from $60,000 to over $1 million.
Rana Soliman, 35, of San Dimas, allegedly secured more than $23,000 in benefits by claiming no income or assets. However, authorities allege Soliman owned a home in Menifee that was valued at more than $611,000 and received rental income of $3,200 to $3,600 a month for that property.
In Glendale, Jafar Abdi, 67, and Adrineh Abdi, 58, face allegations of collecting more than $29,000 in benefits. The pair reportedly certified they had no income from rental property or employment beyond Jafar Abdi’s temporary job at a body care store. Prosecutors contend that Adrineh Abdi earned more than $165,000 during the period in question, while the couple simultaneously collected $4,825 monthly for a house they owned in Glendale.
Hasmik Hovhannisyan, 40, and Hayk Grigoryan, 45, of Los Angeles, are accused of receiving more than $38,000 in benefits between March 2023 and February 2025. While the couple disclosed wages earned by Grigoryan at a Los Angeles bakery, they consistently swore under penalty of perjury that they possessed no further income, even though they owned the business which generated more than $115,000 in earnings.
Eight Defendants Plead Not Guilty to Fraud Charges
All eight defendants have entered pleas of not guilty, according to court records. The charges follow a broader effort by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office to curb abuse of social safety nets.
The District Attorney’s Office reported that these cases are among more than 340 filed this year, alleging a total of $4.8 million in government losses because of fraud and perjury allegedly committed by public benefit recipients.
The District Attorney’s Office has filed criminal charges against eight people accused of concealing income or assets to fraudulently obtain public benefits.
