Eight people, including an LA Metro employee and a California Employment Development Department employee, have been charged in six felony cases alleging they fraudulently obtained $177,233.77 in CalFresh and CalWORKs benefits from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said.
The office said the defendants allegedly concealed assets or income that included a Glendale rental home valued at about $979,000, a profitable bakery and investment accounts with balances ranging up to more than $1 million.
“Public benefits are a lifeline for struggling families, not free cash for fraudsters,” District Attorney said. His office said it has filed more than 340 public-assistance fraud cases in calendar 2026 alleging about $4.8 million in government losses. Pamela Johnson, a public information specialist for the office, told The Golden Coast Journal on Nov. 13 that the figure is for the calendar year, not the fiscal year, and that she did not know the exact end date used for the total.
The defendants and the allegations listed in the release are:
Ogi Buyan of Santa Monica is accused of obtaining $47,059.77 in CalWORKs, CalFresh and housing assistance benefits between Sept. 30, 2019, and Aug. 12, 2023, while holding two investment accounts with a combined monthly balance ranging from $60,000 to over $1 million; she is charged in case 26CJCF04969 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and seven felony counts of perjury by false application for aid; a preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for Dec. 11 in Department 41 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Johnson confirmed that Dec. 11 setting on Nov. 13 and said the felony complaint, which the office provided, lists eight counts.
Rana Soliman of San Dimas is accused of obtaining $23,255 in CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits between Oct. 5, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2025, while owning a Menifee home valued at about $611,100 and receiving rental income of $3,200 to $3,600 per month; she is charged in case 26CJCF04799 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and four felony counts of perjury by false application for aid; a preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for Dec. 11 in Department 41.
Jafar Abdi and Adrineh Abdi of Glendale are accused of obtaining $29,579 in CalFresh benefits between May 16, 2021, and June 29, 2023; the release says Adrineh Abdi worked full time at a local college and earned more than $165,000 during that period, and that the couple owned a Glendale house worth about $979,000 that they rented out for $4,825 a month; both are charged in case 26CJCF03664 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and multiple felony counts of perjury by false application for aid; a preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for Dec. 11 in Department 41.
Hasmik Hovhannisyan and Hayk Grigoryan of Los Angeles are accused of obtaining $38,630 in CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits between March 3, 2023, and Feb. 27, 2025; the release says the couple reported only his wages as a bakery employee while owning the bakery and receiving $115,055 in corporate income from 2022 to 2024; each is charged in case 26CJCF05380 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and four felony counts of perjury by false application for aid; preliminary hearing settings are scheduled for Dec. 11 in Department 41 for Grigoryan and Dec. 4 in Department 42 for Hovhannisyan.
Nadya Daniels of Inglewood is accused of obtaining $21,076 in CalFresh benefits between April 5, 2023, and April 18, 2025, while working for the state Employment Development Department with gross monthly income of about $4,500 to $5,980; she is charged in case 26CJCF04971 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and five felony counts of perjury by false application for aid; a preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for Nov. 20 in Department 42.
Nyeisha Nicole Taylor of Los Angeles is accused of obtaining $17,634 in CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits between Nov. 6, 2021, and Aug. 22, 2022, while employed by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority from January 2022, earning about $1,850 a month; she is charged in case 26CJCF05033 with one felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and two felony counts of perjury by false application for aid; a preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for Nov. 20 in Department 42.
Deputy District Attorney Ursula Aguiar of the Public Assistance Fraud Division is prosecuting the six cases, and DPSS is investigating, the office said. The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Local
Nathan J. Hochman
District Attorney of Los Angeles County
Named once in this story.
Portrait: Los Angeles County District Attorney / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
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