Eight people, including a Los Angeles Metro employee and a California state worker, have been charged with defrauding taxpayers of more than $177,000 in public assistance by allegedly concealing wages, rental income and investment accounts from benefits programs.
Nadya Daniels, 41, of Inglewood, is accused of collecting more than $21,000 in CalFresh benefits between April 2023 and April 2025 while repeatedly claiming she had no income or worked only part-time at a retail store. Prosecutors say Daniels worked for the state’s Employment Development Department, earning between roughly $4,500 and nearly $6,000 a month in gross income during that period.
Nyeisha Nicole Taylor, 41, of Los Angeles, allegedly collected more than $17,600 in CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits between November 2021 and August 2022. Prosecutors say Taylor was hired by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in January 2022, earning approximately $1,850 a month, while continuing to receive the benefits.
Both women are accused of repeatedly signing benefits applications and recertifications that prosecutors say contained false information about their income.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the charges Thursday.
“Public benefits are a lifeline for struggling families, not free cash for fraudsters,” Hochman said. “While public assistance fraud is a small fraction of the total benefits distributed, even one person who takes advantage of the system is one too many.”
The remaining six defendants face similarly detailed allegations.
- Ogi Buyan, 50, of Santa Monica, allegedly collected more than $47,000 in public assistance while holding two investment accounts with combined monthly balances ranging from $60,000 to more than $1 million.
- Rana Soliman, 35, of San Dimas, allegedly collected more than $23,000 in benefits while concealing a Menifee home valued at more than $611,000 and rental income of up to $3,600 a month.
- Jafar Abdi, 67, and Adrineh Abdi, 58, a Glendale couple, allegedly collected more than $29,000 in food assistance while concealing employment and rental income. Prosecutors say Adrineh Abdi earned more than $165,000 during the period, while the couple also collected $4,825 a month in rent.
- Hasmik Hovhannisyan, 40, and Hayk Grigoryan, 45, of Los Angeles, allegedly collected more than $38,000 in benefits while failing to disclose income from a bakery they owned that generated more than $115,000.
All eight defendants have pleaded not guilty. Each faces a felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 along with multiple counts of perjury by false application for fraud.
Hochman said his office has filed more than 340 cases this year involving alleged public benefits fraud and perjury, with claimed government losses totaling $4.8 million.
