LOS ANGELES, CA – A Santa Monica woman is one of eight people charged in six separate felony cases with allegedly hiding assets or income while collecting a combined $177,233.77 in CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits from Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced the cases on Nov. 12 in a news release. Prosecutors allege the defendants obtained the money from the county Department of Public Social Services, known as DPSS. Street People reported on the announcement on Nov. 13.
The Santa Monica defendant is Ogi Buyan, 50. Prosecutors allege she received $47,059.77 in CalWORKs cash aid, CalFresh and housing assistance between Sept. 30, 2019, and Aug. 12, 2023.
“Public benefits are a lifeline for struggling families, not free cash for fraudsters,” Hochman said in the release.
The charges are allegations. The DA’s office said the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Santa Monica woman accused of hiding investment accounts
According to prosecutors, Buyan held two investment accounts during the period in which she received the assistance. They say the accounts had a combined monthly balance ranging from $60,000 to more than $1 million.
Prosecutors allege Buyan certified under penalty of perjury, in several applications and eligibility status reports, that she had no money in the bank. They also allege she certified that her checking and savings accounts held $100 or less.
She faces one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and seven felony counts of perjury by false application for aid. Her next court date is Dec. 11 in Department 41 of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.
Rental properties alleged in two cases
Rana Soliman, 35, of San Dimas, is accused of collecting $23,255 in benefits between Oct. 5, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2025. Prosecutors say she reported no assets or income during that time.
They allege she owned a Menifee home valued at about $611,100 and collected $3,200 to $3,600 a month in rent from it. Prosecutors also say she received an initial payment of $19,850 to secure the lease. She faces one count of aid by misrepresentation and four counts of perjury.
Jafar Abdi, 67, and Adrineh Abdi, 58, of Glendale, are accused of collecting $29,579 in CalFresh benefits between May 2021 and June 2023. Prosecutors say the couple reported no income beyond Jafar Abdi’s temporary job at a body care store.
According to prosecutors, Adrineh Abdi worked full time at a local college during that period and earned more than $165,000. They also allege the couple rented out a Glendale house valued at about $979,000 for $4,825 a month.
Bakery ownership and public-agency jobs alleged
Hasmik Hovhannisyan, 40, and Hayk Grigoryan, 45, of Los Angeles, are accused of collecting $38,630 between March 2023 and February 2025. The couple reported Grigoryan’s wages as an employee of a Los Angeles bakery.
Prosecutors allege they did not disclose that they owned the bakery. They say it brought the couple $115,055 in corporate income from 2022 to 2024.
Nadya Daniels, 41, of Inglewood, is accused of collecting $21,076 in CalFresh benefits between April 2023 and April 2025. Prosecutors say she reported no income or only part-time retail work, while she was employed by the state Employment Development Department and earned about $4,500 to $5,980 a month.
Nyeisha Nicole Taylor, 41, of Los Angeles, is accused of collecting $17,634 between November 2021 and August 2022. Prosecutors allege she kept certifying she was unemployed after the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority hired her in January 2022 at about $1,850 a month.
Charges and court dates
Each defendant faces one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and between two and seven felony counts of perjury. The release lists court dates of Nov. 20 in Department 42, and Dec. 4 and Dec. 11 in Department 41, at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
For someone charged with a felony, arraignment is usually followed by a preliminary hearing, according to the California Courts self-help guide on arraignment. The guide says the defendant and the prosecution have a right to a preliminary hearing within 10 court days of the arraignment or plea, whichever is later.
Deputy District Attorney Ursula Aguiar of the Public Assistance Fraud Division is prosecuting the six cases. DPSS is investigating.
DA says more than 340 cases filed this year
Hochman said the Public Assistance Fraud Division has filed more than 340 cases this year. The office said those cases allege nearly $4.8 million in fraudulent payments.
Hochman said public assistance fraud is a small fraction of the total benefits distributed. He also said the overwhelming number of recipients obtain the assistance legitimately.
CalWORKs and CalFresh provide food, housing, employment, clothing, child care, medical and utility assistance to low-income families, according to the DA’s announcement.
Warning on EBT skimming and stolen identities
The announcement also described recent convictions and pending cases involving EBT card skimming and benefits obtained with stolen identities. The DA’s office advised benefit recipients to download the ebtEDGE app, change their PINs, check their balances and use tap-to-pay.
One pending case involves a Sacramento County man accused of using the identities of 22 people to collect about $146,474 in Los Angeles County benefits. The DA’s earlier release on that case says he was charged with 22 counts each of identity theft and grand theft.
How to report suspected welfare fraud
Suspected welfare fraud can be reported to the DPSS Welfare Fraud Prevention and Investigations section, which lists a Central Fraud Reporting Line at 1-800-349-9970.
The California Department of Social Services Data Stewardship and Integrity Bureau oversees program integrity in CalWORKs, CalFresh and Child Care. It operates a Fraud Referral Hotline at 1-800-344-TIPS.
Defendants presumed innocent as hearings begin Nov. 20
The first court date in the six cases is Nov. 20, followed by Dec. 4 and Dec. 11. The charges remain allegations, and each case will proceed through the criminal court process.
In each of the six cases, the allegations turn on a gap between what the defendant certified to DPSS and what prosecutors say the defendant earned or owned: investment balances, rental income, business ownership or a paycheck from a public agency. The release lists those figures case by case, and each will be tested in court.
The six cases total $177,233.77. The DA’s office describes its 2026 caseload only in aggregate: more than 340 cases alleging nearly $4.8 million in fraudulent payments. The county’s CalFresh data dashboard shows 934,619 active CalFresh cases in April 2026, the scale of the program in which these allegations sit.
For Santa Monica, the practical effect is limited. Buyan is the only defendant with a Westside address, and the cases are county matters filed at the downtown courthouse. The next tests come on Nov. 20, Dec. 4 and Dec. 11, when the defendants return to the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
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