Former San Francisco nonprofit leader arrested for allegedly misusing taxpayer money on events, trips

After a months-long investigation, the former executive director of a now-defunct San Francisco nonprofit was arrested Tuesday on dozens of felony charges related to the alleged misuse of more than $700,000 in public funds, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said.

Kyra Worthy, a resident of Richmond, California, was charged with misappropriating public funds, grand theft, issuing false invoices, wage theft and issuing fraudulent checks while she was head of SF SAFE, a 48-year-old nonprofit organization that works with the city police to improve safety and prevent crime in San Francisco, prosecutors said.

Investigators with the District Attorney’s Office determined that an audit conducted by the San Francisco Comptroller’s Office showed that Worthy had improperly spent at least $80,000 in grant money from the San Francisco Police Department on expenses such as luxury gift boxes, a trip to Lake Tahoe, parking fees and permits, and transportation services.

The complaint also alleged that Worthy spent nearly $56,000 in nonprofit funds on the holiday party.

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SF SAFE Director Kyra Worthy (center) was fired over her alleged misuse of funds for the San Francisco nonprofit that provided community outreach and crime prevention education. (KTVU)

David Gelman, a former prosecutor and CEO and founder of Gelman Law, told Fox News Digital that the case could go several ways.

“There are a few things here. There’s a criminal aspect and whether she’s been charged yet. If so, I wouldn’t be surprised if the federal government got involved because she was taking money from various federal entities,” Gelman said. “That’s a whole different story and the consequences would be much more severe if the feds got involved.”

Gelman believes Worthy was able to get away with embezzlement and fraud for so long because she was the foundation’s executive director and faced no responsibility for it.

“She’s the executive director, the head of this organization, and there’s no one overseeing it. And that’s very shocking and just sad. There needs to be some oversight, some board. It’s a total misuse of money and total incompetence,” Gelman said.

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The goal of SF SAFE was to increase safety and prevent crime in San Francisco through community organizing. (Getty Images)

Worthy, hired in 2018, allegedly stole and spent more than $100,000 in SF SAFE funds for her own personal use during her employment with the nonprofit.

Gelman said the unfortunate thing about this situation is that charities and people who need the money are suffering.

“Charities and individuals who could really benefit from this money didn’t get it. Everyone has been scammed, they’ve been cheated in this disaster. There are no winners here. It’s a terrible situation,” Gelman said.

Worthy’s alleged thefts and mismanagement led to her firing, and the nonprofit abruptly closed in January 2024 without any assets.

Nicole Castronovo, a criminal defense attorney, also spoke to Fox News Digital and shared Gelmen’s views on the matter.

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View of San Francisco from Ina Coolbrith City Park. (iStock)

“It was a thriving charity. The San Francisco Police Department even partnered with them. It was a charity that had a lot of legitimacy, had been around for decades, and was in a city like San Francisco that needed those funds so badly. It’s just very sad that this is happening,” Castronovo said.

The complaint alleges that Worthy stopped paying payroll taxes to 27 employees from September 2023 to January 2024, when the nonprofit closed its doors. Over a four-month period, the alleged wage theft totaled about $80,000, prosecutors said. Worthy also received more than $500,000 in public funds from the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development and allegedly never paid them to employees of partner organizations.

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“One bad apple spoils everything for everyone, and ultimately it’s the people who really need the money that suffer the most in all of this. They’re never going to get it all back. These funds were supposed to go to good people. Good people gave these funds, and instead it all went to a crook, this crook,” Gelman said.

The district attorney said the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call the Public Integrity Task Force hotline at 628-652-4444.