A Los Angeles nonprofit that received millions in taxpayer funding through mayoral candidate Nithya Raman’s eviction-defense program more than tripled its revenue over five years, even as its reported housing and eviction-defense spending sharply declined, a California Post investigation found.
The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) reported annual revenue of $17.6 million in 2019. By 2024, that figure had climbed to $58.6 million, while the nonprofit’s net assets doubled to nearly $44 million, according to its IRS filings.
At the same time, an analysis by City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office found that LAFLA’s reported spending on housing and eviction defense dropped from $17.6 million in 2022 to $4.4 million in 2024.
Feldstein Soto is calling for a comprehensive audit, saying between $55 million and $87 million in city and county funding cannot be reconciled with the nonprofit’s publicly available financial records.
LAFLA strongly disputes the findings and maintains that every dollar it received has been properly accounted for.
The new figures offer a deeper view of LAFLA’s finances, one day after The Post reported on the City Attorney’s Oct. 9 findings, which questioned how years of taxpayer-funded contracts were handled.
“Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability and to know that their money is being used as intended, in this case to protect vulnerable tenants at risk of unlawful detainers in the City of Los Angeles,” Feldstein Soto told The Post Thursday.
LAFLA is among the organizations helping operate Stay Housed LA, a city and county initiative that provides free legal services to renters facing eviction.
The program is a signature accomplishment for Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is challenging Mayor Karen Bass in the Nov. 3 election and has made tenant protections a central part of her campaign.
On March 10, the City Council approved a $177 million tenant-protection contract by a 12-1 vote after a closed-door briefing with Feldstein Soto, as previously reported by The Post. LAFLA was designated to receive $106.6 million over three years.
“Graffiti contractors are required to provide more documentation just to get paid,” Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said during the debate.
Questions about LAFLA’s finances date to its original $7 million eviction-defense contract, awarded in 2021 without competitive bidding under a pandemic-related emergency exception.
According to the City Attorney’s report, nine amendments and extensions eventually increased the value of that contract to more than $90 million. The city, however, did not obtain or enforce all of the detailed financial reporting requirements included in the original agreement.
YOU MAY ALSO READ: Ari Kytsya (TikTok Star) Wiki, Biography, Age, Boyfriend, Family, Facts, and Many More. – NewsFinale
Government contracts accounted for approximately $54.1 million of LAFLA’s $58.6 million in 2024 revenue, representing more than 92% of the nonprofit’s income.
LAFLA reported $58.9 million in total expenses that year, along with nearly $44 million in net assets.
The most recent publicly available federal tax filing covers 2024. Because a 2025 Form 990 was not available, the City Attorney’s review of LAFLA’s tax-return spending relied on figures from earlier years.
From 2020 through 2024, city and county governments provided LAFLA with approximately $103.8 million, according to Feldstein Soto’s Oct. 9 report.
Over that same five-year period, LAFLA’s tax filings showed $48.9 million in spending categorized as housing and eviction defense, based on the City Attorney’s analysis.
That spending reached $17.6 million in 2022 before falling to $8.9 million in 2023 and declining again to $4.4 million in 2024, the report said.
Using the categories examined, the City Attorney’s office calculated a potential gap of $54.9 million to $86.6 million between government funding received and spending disclosed in LAFLA’s filings.
LAFLA has pushed back against those conclusions.
Barbara Schultz, the nonprofit’s director of housing justice, previously called the City Attorney’s claims “inaccurate and misleading,” maintaining that the organization answered numerous requests for information and submitted monthly reports to the city’s Housing Department.
She also said that attorney-client confidentiality prevents LAFLA from releasing certain information about the tenants it represents.
Housing Department officials have also defended the nonprofit, saying that it satisfied their requests for financial information.
Despite the ongoing dispute, LAFLA’s new $106.6 million city contract has been signed, allowing funding to move forward.
Feldstein Soto maintains that additional documentation is still needed to reconcile the public funding with the nonprofit’s reported spending.
Her report calls for a full audit but does not identify who will conduct it or when it will begin.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Judge Carli Kierny Bio: Age, Wiki, Career, Political Party and Key Facts