LA Metro worker, state employee among 8 charged with defrauding $177K in low-income assistance

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So much for public service.

A Los Angeles Metro employee and a state government worker are among eight people accused of ripping off taxpayers to the tune of more than $177,000 in public assistance while allegedly hiding their salaries, rental income and other assets from the government cutting their checks.

The alleged scams included a state employee pulling in as much as $6,000 a month while claiming she had little or no income, and a transit worker collecting government benefits after landing a job with the agency responsible for public transportation across LA County.

Nadya Daniels, 41, of Inglewood, allegedly pocketed more than $21,000 in CalFresh benefits between April 2023 and April 2025 while repeatedly claiming she had no income or worked part-time at a retail store.

Prosecutors say Daniels was employed by the state’s Employment Development Department, earning between approximately $4,500 and nearly $6,000 a month in gross income.

Nyeisha Nicole Taylor, 41, of Los Angeles, allegedly collected more than $17,600 in CalWORKs and CalFresh benefits between November 2021 and August 2022, despite being hired by the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in January 2022 and earning approximately $1,850 a month.

The two public employees are accused of repeatedly signing benefits applications and recertifications prosecutors say contained false information.

“Public benefits are a lifeline for struggling families, not free cash for fraudsters,” LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Thursday. “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 other cases include some eyebrow-raising alleged financial disclosures.

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.

Glendale couple Jafar Abdi, 67, and Adrineh Abdi, 58, allegedly collected more than $29,000 in food assistance while concealing employment and rental income. Adrineh Abdi allegedly earned more than $165,000 during the period, while the couple collected $4,825 monthly in rent.

Hasmik Hovhannisyan, 40, and Hayk Grigoryan, 45, 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 pleaded not guilty. Each faces a felony count of aid by misrepresentation over $950 and 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.

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