Name: 2 LA Developers Charged for Alleged Misuse of Homelessness Funds
Uploaded: 2025-10-18T04:39:11.000Z
Description: Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli suggested the prosecution of these two individuals marks the beginning of a broader federal crackdown on those who misuse state and local funds.

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Two Los Angeles-based real estate developers in two separate cases are facing charges that involve alleged misuse of billions of tax dollars intended to combat homelessness, federal prosecutors announced.

Cody Holmes, 31, of Beverly Hills, was arrested Thursday morning on a criminal complaint, charging him with felony mail fraud.

Holmes is the former chief financial officer of Shangri-La, a downtown Los Angeles-based affordable housing developer.

According to prosecutors, Holmes applied for grants with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). He submitted fake bank records to the state agency to prove that his company could fulfill homeless housing projects, but those projects were never built, prosecutors allege.

In a separate case, Steven Taylor, 44, of Brentwood, was charged with seven counts of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of money laundering.

Taylor runs a property-flipping business called Taylor Equities. Prosecutors allege he defrauded a money lender by saying he intended to renovate a senior housing complex in Cheviot Hills and use it for himself. Instead, prosecutors say, he already agreed to sell the property to a homeless housing developer, which used public funds to purchase it for more than double the price.

Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli suggested the prosecution of these two individuals marks the beginning of a broader federal crackdown on those who misuse state and local funds.

“The two criminal cases announced is only the tip of the iceberg and we intend to aggressively pursue all leads and hold anyone who broke any federal laws criminally liable,” Essayli said in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/beverly-hills-man-arrested-brentwood-man-charged-separate-criminal-cases-linked-fraud">statement</a>.

Earlier this year, the Homelessness Fraud and Corruption Task Force was created to investigate the misappropriation and misuse of taxpayer funds intended to support homelessness.

“The FBI is committed to the Homelessness Fraud & Corruption Task Force to find perpetrators of this insidious fraud and build cases to hold the offenders accountable in court. It is my hope that the charges we’re announcing today send a message to others who may be contemplating similar criminal behavior," Akil Davis, the Assistant Director of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said in a statement.

NTD attempted to reach both defendants but did not receive a response by publication.

It’s unclear if they have retained legal representation.

Holmes faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

Taylor, who is free on a $3.6 million bond, faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each bank fraud count, up to 10 years in federal prison for the money laundering count, and a mandatory consecutive two-year prison sentence for the aggravated identity theft count if convicted.

<em>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</em>

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