L.A. will pay nearly $40 million for allegedly misusing federal housing grants

Whistleblower Mei Ling speaks, with her attorney Scott Moore behind her, outside the federal courthouse in Los Angeles in 2017. The city of Los Angeles will pay nearly $40 million for misusing federal housing grants when it created affordable housing that was not accessible to people with disabilities, according to an announcement Monday from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. California Federal government joins whistle-blower suit against L.A. over housing for the disabled The United States is joining a whistle-blower lawsuit that alleges the city of Los Angeles illegally reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding by falsely claiming it was providing sufficient housing for people with disabilities, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. “This settlement shows that we will hold accountable jurisdictions receiving federal grant money to ensure they satisfy their obligations to make affordable housing accessible to people with disabilities,” Principal Deputy Assistant Atty. California After years of inquiries, L.A. still discriminates against disabled renters, feds say A Los Angeles program for developing affordable housing continues to discriminate against people with disabilities, producing kitchens, bathrooms, balconies and other living spaces that aren’t safely accessible to wheelchair users, federal officials said Monday.