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Office of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass
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Topline: L.A.’s top homeless services official Va Lecia Adams Kellum engaged in major misconduct, including hiring unqualified friends into powerful positions, trying to destroy public records, and behaving inappropriately at a conference, according to two whistleblower claim letters obtained by LAist.
Six figures paid out: LAHSA arranged for $800,000 to be paid to the whistleblowers — former chief financial and administrative officer Kristina Dixon and former top IT and data official Emily Vaughn Henry — to settle the claims before they became public lawsuits. The settlement amount is equivalent to what it costs to shelter as many as 40 unhoused people for a year, according to a recent audit’s summary of shelter costs.
How we got the docs: Legal experts previously told LAist the agency was violating public records laws by withholding the whistleblowers’ written allegations that led to the payouts. But after continued questioning and two articles by LAist about the experts’ analysis, LAHSA attorneys ultimately reversed themselves and released those letters — with extensive redactions that a public records attorney says are unlawful.
The response: A spokesperson for Adams Kellum’s administration said LAHSA denies the allegations, but said no formal investigations were started into the specific allegations against her. Adams Kellum’s administration has not answered whether they reported the...
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