Lawsuit Filed In California Over Alleged Misappropriation of Funds
If you thought the headlines about taxpayer-funded drag shows in Ecuador and transgender comic books in Peru were bad, brace yourself—because the rot goes even deeper, and this time it’s hitting right here at home.
While Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continue peeling back layers of federal waste, California officials are shining a harsh light on the local grift. And it’s not pretty.
The Foodbank of Southern California, a Long Beach nonprofit once seen as a cornerstone of the community’s hunger relief network, is now at the center of a blistering lawsuit filed by the state. The allegations? Over $11 million in state funds were misappropriated by the organization’s leaders over the course of a decade—money that was supposed to feed the hungry, instead feeding luxury lifestyles.
BREAKING: Foodbank of Southern California leaders spent millions on cars, Vegas trips, home renovations, lawsuit says.
TRANSLATION: Guess they thought with the word BANK in the name, they had a line of crefit. pic.twitter.com/bind7Wsabs
— Futurist™ (@americasgreat) April 9, 2025
According to the California Department of Social Services, former CEO Jeanne Cooper and her spouse Lamarr Ramsey treated the nonprofit like a personal piggy bank. The complaint reads like a catalog of fraud: $228,000 spent at Best Buy, Home Depot, and AT&T. Thousands more funneled to family members for phantom “transportation” and “repairs.” A $10,000 box truck gifted, Christmas décor bought with donor dollars, even a smartwatch spree on the food bank's dime.
And the names go beyond Cooper and Ramsey. Ten current or former board members—and their family members—are implicated. Among them is “Sweet Alice,” a once-revered community figure who allegedly used the food bank’s funds to prop up her own nonprofit and line the pockets of relatives.
Dr. Sweet Alice Harris is at it again. Giving out hundreds of bikes at the annual Christmas bike and gift giveaway for local kids. Happening today at 1673 E. Imperial Hwy., Los Angeles (Watts) 9am to approx 12pm. @NBCLA #ParentsofWatts pic.twitter.com/teMOjnZvxM
— Rosa Valle-Lopez (@NewsCutz) December 15, 2022
Here’s the brutal irony: this alleged corruption was unfolding as homelessness in California reached catastrophic levels. Over 187,000 people are sleeping on the streets nightly. The state has poured billions into homelessness and hunger solutions, yet the problems persist—unsolved, untouched, and in some corners, unacknowledged. Why? Some argue it’s because there's a “homeless-industrial complex”—a sprawling ecosystem that profits more from maintaining the crisis than fixing it.
If the lawsuit’s claims hold up, the Foodbank of Southern California may be just one node in a much larger web. A system designed to care for the vulnerable instead enriched those at the top. A nonprofit turned for-profit—at the expense of those with nothing.