New York Spent $81,700 Per Unsheltered Homeless Person in 2025. AG Candidate Says Letitia James Never Investigated Where It Went

New York City is spending more than ever on homelessness and getting worse results. According to a New York State Comptroller report published in March, the city spent roughly $81,700 per unsheltered homeless person in fiscal year 2025. Spending on street homelessness has more than tripled since 2019. Over that same stretch, the city's homeless population climbed 78%, per the Comptroller's figures.

That gap between money spent and outcomes delivered is now a campaign issue. Saritha Komatireddy, a candidate for New York Attorney General, is accusing incumbent Letitia James of failing to hold the nonprofit shelter providers accountable despite years of red flags, according to Fox News Digital.

"So there really are questions about what has happened to that money and why that's happening," Komatireddy told Fox News Digital. "The person who should be asking those questions, the person who should be investigating, is the attorney general. But Letitia James has totally failed New Yorkers when it comes to holding homeless shelter nonprofits accountable so that they actually help the homeless."

The Paper Trail Behind the Accusation

This isn't a new controversy. The New York City Department of Investigation, the New York State Comptroller and federal prosecutors have all dug into city-funded shelter nonprofits over the years, according to Fox News Digital, turning up allegations of fraud, self-dealing, kickbacks, conflicts of interest and weak financial controls.

The most disturbing case involves Victor Rivera, the former CEO of Bronx Parent Housing Network. A 2021 New York Times investigation found at least 10 women accused Rivera of sexual assault or unwanted sexual conduct while they were living in shelters his nonprofit operated. Weeks after that story ran, federal prosecutors indicted Rivera on conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering charges tied to an alleged kickback scheme. He pleaded not guilty, and the criminal case has proceeded through the federal system since.

A 2024 Department of Investigation review of 51 city-funded shelter providers found a pattern of nepotism, lack of competitive bidding and executives pulling salaries approaching or exceeding $1 million, according to Fox News Digital. That report specifically flagged that the state attorney general has legal authority to challenge improper transactions at nonprofit organizations. State Comptroller audits separately identified millions of dollars in unsupported or improper costs at providers including CAMBA and Westhab.

None of this establishes that James personally broke any law or ignored a formal referral demanding action. No indictment, charge, or formal misconduct finding has been made against James herself in connection with shelter oversight. The criticism from Komatireddy is a campaign argument about priorities and enforcement, not a legal allegation of wrongdoing by the attorney general.

The Fair Counterargument

A reasonable defense of James's record exists. The attorney general's office doesn't run the shelters. The city's Department of Homeless Services and City Hall do. Mayor Eric Adams and now Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration control the contracts, negotiate the rates, and choose which nonprofits get funded. The AG's civil enforcement powers over nonprofits are real but limited, and prosecuting individual bad actors like Rivera fell to federal prosecutors, not James's office.

Homelessness spending nationwide has climbed amid a broader affordability crisis, rising rents, and, in New York's case, a large influx of migrants who entered the shelter system starting in 2022. Higher per-person costs don't automatically prove fraud. Some of it reflects real inflation in shelter operations, security, and services.

The Comptroller's own numbers are hard to explain away: triple the spending on street homelessness since 2019, a 78% jump in the unsheltered population over the same period, and a per-person cost north of $81,000 a year. The median household income in New York State is lower. Critics on the right and plenty of good-government watchdogs across the spectrum have asked the same basic question: why isn't more oversight authority being used given how much money is on the table.

What Happens Next

Komatireddy's campaign puts this dispute on the ballot. James has not formally announced whether she's running for reelection as attorney general or seeking another office; the current cycle's Democratic field remains unsettled as of this reporting. James's office has not issued a direct public response to Komatireddy's specific comments to Fox News Digital.

The underlying oversight questions remain open regardless of who wins the race. The Department of Investigation's 2024 findings on nepotism and no-bid contracts have not resulted in a public accounting of what, if anything, the attorney general's office did in response. Whether James's office reviewed the DOI report, opened any inquiry into the flagged providers, or referred matters elsewhere hasn't been detailed in available public records. That's the specific gap Komatireddy is running on, and it's one voters and reporters can keep pressing for an answer to before New Yorkers cast ballots.