Nonprofit Executives Charged in $8.5 Million Fraud Case

For decades, the Chicana Service Action Center received millions of dollars in taxpayer money to help some of the county's most disadvantaged residents: the homeless, the unemployed, victims of domestic violence, foster youth looking for work.

The nonprofit organization also played a pivotal role in launching the political career of former County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who described herself as one of the group's earliest supporters. In the last few years, its influence had gone far beyond its Eastside origins, extending its reach from downtown to the eastern edge of the San Gabriel Valley.

Now, prosecutors have charged three of the group's executives with embezzlement and conspiracy...