New York spent a staggering $81,700 per unsheltered homeless person in fiscal year 2025 — while the city’s homeless population climbed 78% and scandal after scandal rocked nonprofit shelter providers.
Republican attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy is now accusing Democrat AG Letitia James of failing to hold those nonprofits accountable despite years of fraud allegations, executive-compensation scandals, and billions in taxpayer dollars vanishing into a system that keeps getting worse.
The numbers are damning. A New York State Comptroller report in March found spending on street homelessness more than tripled since 2019 — even as the crisis deepened.
“So, there really are questions about what has happened to that money and why that’s happening. The person who should be asking those questions, the person who should be investigating, is the attorney general.”
“But Letitia James has totally failed New Yorkers when it comes to holding homeless shelter nonprofits accountable so that they actually help the homeless,” Komatireddy told Fox News Digital.
The criticism comes after years of investigations by the New York City Department of Investigation, the State Comptroller, and federal prosecutors uncovering fraud, self-dealing, kickbacks, conflicts of interest, excessive executive compensation, and weak financial oversight at organizations running city-funded shelters.
Among the highest-profile cases: Bronx Parent Housing Network CEO Victor Rivera was accused by at least 10 women in a 2021 New York Times investigation of sexual assault or unwanted sexual conduct while they lived in shelters operated by his nonprofit.
Weeks later, Rivera was federally indicted on conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering charges tied to an alleged kickback scheme. He pleaded not guilty.
A 2024 Department of Investigation review found nepotism, lack of competitive bidding, and exorbitant salaries were issues among 51 city-funded shelter providers — including executives earning salaries approaching or exceeding $1 million.
The report specifically noted that the attorney general has authority under New York law to challenge improper transactions involving nonprofit organizations.
State comptroller audits also identified millions of dollars in unsupported or improper costs at several nonprofit shelter providers — including CAMBA, Westhab, the Institute for Community Living, and Samaritan Daytop Village — with follow-up audits finding many recommendations remained unimplemented.
Komatireddy argued those repeated findings should have prompted broader action by the attorney general’s Charities Bureau, which is responsible for overseeing nonprofit organizations in New York.
“The amount of money that’s being spent is really shocking,” she said. “We know that at least one homeless shelter CEO received a million dollars in compensation. Meanwhile, New Yorkers are sleeping on the streets.”
“It’s the attorney general’s job to audit and investigate the homeless shelter nonprofits. We have a Charities Bureau in the attorney general’s office whose responsibility is to oversee and supervise all nonprofits in the state, but Letitia James has not been doing that job.”
James’ office has publicly announced only a handful of enforcement actions involving nonprofit homeless shelter providers during her tenure.
Among them: a 2022 settlement with HELP USA requiring governance reforms following a Charities Bureau investigation into conflict-of-interest issues involving former CEO Alan Altheide, and a 2023 lawsuit seeking to dissolve Housing Bridge Inc., alleging its executives diverted charitable assets for personal benefit.
Komatireddy called for audits of every homeless shelter nonprofit that receives taxpayer funding.
“We need to audit and investigate every homeless shelter nonprofit in New York. Make sure the people who are doing a good job are supported, the people doing a bad job are cut off from taxpayer money and the people committing crimes are prosecuted and put in jail.”
The homeless shelter criticism is the latest in a broader campaign argument from Komatireddy that James has failed to aggressively police taxpayer-funded fraud.
Earlier this year, Komatireddy criticized James’ oversight of New York’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit after federal officials suspended its funding, alleging the attorney general had adopted “a deliberate leadership choice” to pursue fewer criminal fraud cases and allow investigations to languish.
James’ campaign rejected the criticism, calling Komatireddy’s “latest line of attack” as “hollow as her record of public service.”
“While Saritha is busy playing politics, New York Attorney General Letitia James has spent over two decades working hand-in-hand with government partners across New York City and state to protect homeless New Yorkers and hold bad actors accountable,” a campaign spokesperson said.
Komatireddy is challenging James in New York’s 2026 attorney general race.
