On Tuesday, Gwendolyn Westbrook, the former CEO of a San Francisco homeless services charity, was arraigned on nine felony charges after prosecutors said she stole more than $1.2 million in public funds intended to help keep people off the streets.
The case highlights concerns about oversight and accountability in organizations that receive public funding to serve vulnerable populations. The allegations involve unauthorized self-payments, improper cash withdrawals, and fraudulent reimbursement practices between 2019 and 2023.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced charges against Westbrook for allegedly misspending $1.2 million in public funds. “Prosecutors allege that between 2019 and 2023, Ms. Westbrook engaged in unauthorized self-payments, improper cash withdrawals, and fraudulent reimbursement practices that diverted public funds for personal use,” according to a statement from the district attorney’s office.
Westbrook faces charges including misappropriation of public funds, grand theft, and filing false California tax returns. Her arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. Messages were sent to Westbrook and the United Council for Human Services seeking comment on the charges; an attorney for Westbrook could not be located.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, these charges are the latest in a series of issues involving Westbrook and the United Council of Human Services. In previous years, she was accused of stealing money from her employer at the San Francisco Port in 1997 and regulators found unsanctioned blackjack tables at a charity bingo hall operated by her nonprofit in 2015.
Court documents filed this month accuse Westbrook of using nonprofit funds to buy luxury vehicles and make purchases at high-end retailers such as Louis Vuitton and Neiman Marcus. She led the organization—which ran a soup kitchen and received millions in city contracts—until her dismissal in 2023.
