Dozens fall victim to Section 8 housing voucher giveaway scam at Rancho Cienega Park

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Dozens fell victim to a Section 8 housing scam Saturday in which a flyer promoted a fake event that claimed vouchers would be distributed.

According to the victims, the flyer was posted online and directed people to go to the Rancho Cienega Recreation Center in Baldwin Hills. That's where the flyer said people would receive a voucher.

The flyer also claimed the giveaway was from the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Karen Bass.

When people arrived, a sign greeted them on the door that said the voucher giveaway was an online hoax.

"I really needed this to be for real," said Debarah Anderson, who came to the recreation center hoping for a voucher. "I can't believe that someone would do a hoax like this."

"It shows the desperation of people needing help on the issue of housing," said Daniel Robson. "You could see people quite very disappointed when they got here to hear the news it was a hoax."

Bass released a statement Saturday afternoon, saying, "The social media posts and other claims that Section 8 vouchers are being distributed at Rancho Cienega Park are false. It's unacceptable that anyone would give false information to some of the most vulnerable Angelenos."