On September 10, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass quietly resigned from the board of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. She cited "scheduling conflicts."

One week later, on September 16, federal authorities announced fraud arrests tied to more than $130 million in stolen funds — $75 million of which had been funneled directly through LAHSA.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner laid it out in terms that don't require a forensic accountant. "These fraudsters received over $130 million; more than $75 million dollars of those were funneled through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority," Turner said. Then he added the kicker: "That is nearly the same amount LAHSA received from HUD every year until the Trump administration put an end to the California corruption."

The people actually arrested — Alexander Soofer, Lakiya Malone, Michael Young, and Donye Mitchell — allegedly stole $14 million. They spent it on private jets, Range Rovers, nightclub openings, and domestic violence bail payments. Homeless services money. For private jets.

Bass's office released a statement saying her time on the LAHSA board "reinforced her understanding that our current system is broken and in need of major overhaul." The system she sat on the board of. The system she ran on fixing. The system she left seven days before federal agents showed up with handcuffs.

Former LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt responded to the timing with two words: "Probably nothing!"

Bass also declined to testify at a Congressional hearing on the matter. Scheduling conflicts again, presumably.

The pattern is familiar. Bass made homelessness the centerpiece of her mayoral campaign. She declared a state of emergency on her first day in office. She sat on the board of the agency distributing federal homeless dollars. And when those dollars turned out to be funding luxury purchases instead of shelter beds, she was already gone — resignation letter dated, exit clean.

"Those days of blank checks are indeed over," Secretary Turner said.

The blank checks flowed through LAHSA for years. The mayor sat on the board. The fraud reached $130 million. The arrests came September 16. The resignation came September 10.

Six days.