A widening federal investigation into the misuse of millions in homeless housing funds has ripped through the upper echelons of Los Angeles County’s political and law enforcement circles. Federal authorities announced explosive arrests today, October 16, 2025, of individuals in Brentwood and Beverly Hills linked to a brazen scheme that siphoned public money meant for homeless housing into private luxury assets. At the heart of this scandal is Shangri-La Industries, a development firm accused of plundering state and federal housing dollars, and its executives’ calculated financial grip on local politicians, with continued focus on Sheriff Robert Luna, who is fiercely campaigning for re-election in 2026.
Public records from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s TRACCER system expose a decade-long trail of donations from Shangri-La’s CEO, Andrew Abdul-Wahab (professionally known as Andy Meyers), totaling at least $19,000 to various LA County supervisors and candidates. These include $3,000 to Janice Hahn for Supervisor in 2014, $2,000 to her 2016 campaign, $1,500 in 2020, $1,500 each to Mark Ridley-Thomas (2016), Sheila Kuehl (2018), Mark H. Hernandez (2020), Lindsey Horvath (2022), Hilda Solis (2022), and Herb Wesson (2020), $1,000 to Bobby Shriver (2014), and contributions to Kathryn Barger (2024). This sprawling web of payoffs reveals how Shangri-La has masterminded influence across LA County’s political elite, especially those controlling housing and enforcement. Yet, the most damning spotlight burns on Luna, whose campaign has shamelessly cashed in on Shangri-La’s largesse as he fights to cling to power.
A Form 497 campaign filing from September 12, 2022, lays bare contributions to Luna’s initial 2022 election victory, including $1,500 each from CEO Andrew Abdul-Wahab, and former CFO Cody Holmes – now indicted for mail fraud – totaling at least $4,500 from key executives. These funds were funneled into the “Luna for Sheriff 2022” committee and stamped by the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Proposition Unit. The stranglehold tightens with additional backing, as Skyler Modrzejewski, a Shangri-La Development coordinator, chipped in $1,500 to Luna’s 2022 campaign and another $1,500 to his 2025 reelection efforts per recent TRACCER filings, potentially bolstered by family-linked support.
These payouts are inextricably tied to explosive allegations of plundering funds from California’s Project Homekey program, which handed Shangri-La approximately $114 million in grants to transform motels into housing for the unhoused. Launched by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020 as a fast-track response to the COVID-19 crisis, Homekey has awarded over $4 billion statewide for more than 15,000 units, but Shangri-La’s involvement has become a glaring symbol of its pitfalls. The company secured grants for seven motel conversions across California – including projects in Thousand Oaks, Salinas, King City, Redlands, San Bernardino, and two others – promising hundreds of affordable units. Investigators charge that executives hijacked these funds for personal enrichment, lavish spending, and political leverage, with Holmes’ case exposing $2.2 million squandered on Birkin bags, private jets, and a $46,000/month Beverly Hills rental. The timing of these contributions, syncing with the approval timeline of Shangri-La’s state contracts, screams questions about whether taxpayer money secretly bankrolled political favors. Of the seven funded projects, only two are completed, with five left in ruins or foreclosed, saddling taxpayers with over $41 million in losses. As one housing advocate told KCRW, “This isn’t just mismanagement; it’s a betrayal of the most vulnerable, turning emergency funds into executive perks while families sleep on the streets.”
The influence game stretches beyond Luna. Modrzejewski’s donations also include $1,500 to Janice Hahn (2022), $1,500 to Kathryn Barger (2022), and to Mitchell Englander who was convicted of public corruption in 2020, though his network’s reach extends to other power players like Holly Mitchell ($1,500 in 2022) and Lindsey Horvath ($1,500 in 2022). Total contributions from Modrzejewski-linked donors, including family members, top $68,000 across multiple recipients per TRACER. Luna’s relentless collection of Shangri-La cash – especially as he battles for re-election – ignites fears of cronyism, given the Sheriff’s Department’s heavy hand in encampment clearances tied to these housing debacles.
Shangri-La’s roots trace back to billionaire Steve Bing, who died by suicide in 2020 after founding the firm as an investment and entertainment empire with stakes in real estate, film, and philanthropy. Under Abdul-Wahab’s iron grip since 2017, it has morphed into a glaring emblem of California’s crumbling homelessness-industrial complex, steeped in corruption, abandoned projects, and federal indictments against executives like Holmes, though Wahab faces only civil suits, not criminal charges.
This federal case lays bare how Los Angeles’s homelessness crisis has been hijacked as a cash cow for political gain. Shangri-La was entrusted with tens of millions to shelter the vulnerable, yet left projects in shambles, forcing taxpayers to foot the bill. Meanwhile, executives pumped money into Luna’s coffers and those of supervisors who greenlit housing budgets, fueling a firestorm of questions about access and accountability.
The unholy alliance between Luna and his donors, including an indicted CFO, a CEO under civil scrutiny, and those under investigation, is a ticking time bomb – especially as he scrambles for re-election.
Adding fuel to the fire, Luna disbanded the Sheriff’s Department’s Public Corruption Unit in early 2023, shortly after taking office, citing redundancy with other agencies and budget constraints, a move that critics argue gutted internal oversight of fraud and influence peddling at a time when such safeguards were most needed.
Political insiders say these contributions reek of pay-to-play politics – a cash-for-influence pipeline disguised as campaign support. And for Sheriff Luna, the timing couldn’t be worse. With his administration already mired in scandal and operational chaos at LASD, the revelation fuels a growing perception that his leadership is compromised – setting the stage for an explosive showdown in the 2026 race.
Could these campaign donations be the smoking gun – linking stolen taxpayer dollars straight to political power plays at the highest levels?
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