LA’s Weingart Center Places Execs on Leave

Two senior leaders at the Weingart Center Association, one of the largest homeless services nonprofits in Los Angeles, have been placed on leave amid an ongoing investigation into irregularities in its housing projects.

Weingart president and CEO Kevin Murray, a former state senator, and Weingart real estate development director Ben Rosen have been put on leave while the nonprofit conducts an internal review, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The company is looking into “certain” homeless housing projects “in light of recent reporting raising questions concerning the valuation,” spokesperson Stefan Friedman said. The Weingart board appointed chief operating officer Tonja Boykin to lead the firm in the interim.

The inquiry comes after the outlet reported that Weingart paid $27.3 million for a Cheviot Hills nursing home last year just months after real estate executive Steven Taylor allegedly bought it for $11.2 million using falsified financial records.

Federal authorities charged Taylor last month with nine felonies in connection to the deal.

Investigators are looking into what Weingart and the city knew about the purchase, as the nonprofit had received $47 million in public funds, including $26.6 million from California’s Homekey program, to convert the nursing home into supportive housing.

Another similar project is under the microscope.

Weingart planned to buy a 122-room Extended Stay America in Torrance for $30 million with the help of state and local funds designated for housing homeless people and convert the property into supportive housing.

But the $30 million appraisal was believed to be way off, with experts pinning the value between $21.5 million and $22.7 million. An appraisal commissioned by Torrance officials determined the hotel’s value was $10.2 million.

For that project, Weingart had sought $37.7 million in state Homekey+ funds, which helps pay for efforts to quickly house homeless people by converting hotels and motels into housing. Weingart ultimately decided not to move forward with the project following community pushback.

The company operates and develops housing sites across Los Angeles County and serves nearly 2,000 people daily.

Sam Josephs, an attorney representing Rosen, said his client welcomes the review.

“Mr. Rosen is a career-long advocate of housing for people experiencing homelessness and is excited about, and welcomes, the opportunity to participate in Weingart’s review to create the most robust internal controls to fulfill the mission of the Weingart Center, where he’s served for more than seven years,” Josephs said.

— Chris Malone Méndez