XPost: sac.politics, talk.politics.guns, alt.law-enforcement   
   XPost: or.politics, ca.politics   
   From: Colon.Powell@tutanato.com   
      
   On 1/22/2026 5:34 AM, a425couple wrote:   
   > On 1/22/26 02:39, Pelosi Goes To prison wrote:   
   >> Even in L.A.’s famously overheated real estate market, the profit — and   
   >> quick turnaround — on a senior housing complex in the Cheviot Hills   
   >> neighborhood seemed extraordinary.   
   >>   
   >> The man at the center of the deal, since identified by federal   
   >> prosecutors as Brentwood landlord and developer Steven Taylor, bought   
   >> the property on Shelby Drive in 2023 for $11.2 million, purchase records   
   >> show.   
   >   
   > This is interesting and informative about more blue state fraud.   
   > Thank you for posting it   
      
   Ditto.  This comment on the 2026 Davos gathering seems somewhat apropos:   
      
      
   "Davos is always brilliant, the richest people in the world get together   
   and listen to academic talks with titles like 'Do Poor People Really   
   Need ALL Their Organs?'”   
      
   https://off-guardian.org/2026/01/20/lets-talk-about-davos-2026/   
      
   >>   
   >> He wasn’t planning to hold on to the complex for long. At the time of   
   >> his purchase, a company owned by Taylor already was in escrow to sell   
   >> the complex to Weingart Center, a major homeless housing provider, for   
   >> more than double what he paid, according to a purchase agreement   
   >> obtained through a public records request.   
   >>   
   >> The $27.3 million to pay for that acquisition came from taxpayer grant   
   >> funds authorized by city and state officials, according to grant   
   >> documentation. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom touted the   
   >> purchase as a key tool in the fight against homelessness.   
   >>   
   >> The deal called for Taylor’s involvement to be kept secret, according to   
   >> a confidentiality clause included in the purchase contract obtained   
   >> through a public records request.   
   >>   
   >> That changed last month, when federal authorities announced criminal   
   >> charges against Taylor. He’s accused of submitting fraudulent documents   
   >> to borrow money from private lenders when he bought this and other   
   >> properties.   
   >>   
   >> At a news conference, the region’s top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli,   
   >> said the investigation is ongoing.   
   >>   
   >> Taylor was arrested in August, when the case was under seal, and pleaded   
   >> not guilty, court records show. It’s the first of the two known criminal   
   >> cases brought so far by the federal task force Essayli assembled in   
   >> April to investigate fraud and corruption around the use of billions of   
   >> dollars earmarked to combat homelessness in Southern California.   
   >>   
   >> Essayli announced the task force after a court-ordered review and a   
   >> federal audit found city and state officials have failed to properly   
   >> track homeless funds and protect against fraud.   
   >>   
   >> Taylor and his attorney, Michael Freedman, have not responded to LAist’s   
   >> phone messages for comment.   
   >>   
   >> LAist’s review of the Cheviot Hills property deal found the purchase   
   >> stands out not just for its high price tag but for the complexity and   
   >> secrecy surrounding it.   
   >>   
   >> The records reviewed by LAist show:   
   >>   
   >> A purchase agreement shows Taylor was in escrow to buy the property when   
   >> city and state officials agreed to use taxpayer funds to buy it from him   
   >> for $27 million.   
   >>   
   >> Weingart Center’s application for state funding included an appraisal   
   >> report containing inaccurate information about who owned the property   
   >> and did not mention the pending sale.   
   >>   
   >> L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ office had a “big role” in the city’s process   
   >> that recommended this property and two others for the government grants,   
   >> according to an email from a top executive at the city housing   
   >> department.   
   >> A Weingart Center leader said the property, now known as Weingart   
   >> Shelby, isn’t expected to open until next year, despite the grant   
   >> originally requiring it to be fully occupied by February 2025.   
   >>   
   >> Bass’ office did not answer questions regarding the purchase. In a   
   >> statement to LAist, the mayor’s office said the Shelby site “remains an   
   >> important property providing interim housing in an area of the city that   
   >> has extremely limited interim housing supply” and that the city is   
   >> cooperating with the ongoing federal investigation.   
   >>   
   >> Weingart Center’s longtime president and CEO, Kevin Murray, whose   
   >> signature is on the purchase deal, has not responded to LAist’s requests   
   >> for comment. He previously told the L.A. Times he had “no prior   
   >> relationship with the seller and no continuing relationship” and that   
   >> taxpayers paid fair market price.   
   >>   
   >> Murray and Weingart Center’s chief of real estate development, Ben   
   >> Rosen, have been placed on leave, according to news reports last month.   
   >> Rosen also has not responded to LAist’s requests for comment.   
   >>   
   >> The nonprofit’s board has elevated Chief Operating Officer Tonja Boykin   
   >> to lead Weingart Center and has commissioned an outside investigation, a   
   >> spokesperson for the nonprofit told LAist.   
   >>   
   >> “In light of recent reporting raising questions concerning the valuation   
   >> of certain homeless housing projects, we have retained an outside law   
   >> firm to conduct an internal review of related subjects,” said the   
   >> statement from spokesperson Stefan Friedman.   
   >>   
   >> This summer, city leaders in Torrance publicly raised concerns that the   
   >> group was massively overpaying for a hotel property under another round   
   >> of state homelessness grants.   
   >>   
   >> An LAist review also found Weingart Center has received more than $100   
   >> million from taxpayers despite failing to comply with audit requirements   
   >> since 2022. The latest available audit, of the fiscal year ending April   
   >> 2023, concluded the organization had multiple failures in tracking   
   >> taxpayer money it was handling.   
   >>   
   >> Weingart Center’s spokesperson said the group remains committed to   
   >> addressing homelessness, including serving almost 2,000 people daily   
   >> through interim and permanent supportive housing sites across L.A.   
   >>   
   >> https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/secretive-27-million-property   
   >> -deal-to-add-homeless-beds-now-under-federal-investigation   
   >>   
   >   
      
      
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   domestic terrorist to dead in a matter of seconds."   
      
   "Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324(a) defines several distinct offenses related to   
      
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