The saga surrounding SF SAFE, a nonprofit associated with the San Francisco Police Department, has taken a bizarre turn as former executive director Kyra Worthy is now suing the organization for $26,000 in back pay, despite being under indictment for allegedly embezzling $100,000 in taxpayer funds.
Worthy’s legal action follows a series of scandals plaguing the nonprofit, which offers crime prevention education services. According to a report from the City Controller in early 2024, SF SAFE had been found to be overcharging the SFPD for extravagant expenses, including $10,000 a month for limousine services, lavish trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, and $162 gift boxes for events.
Just six days after this report, additional allegations surfaced, indicating that millions were missing from SF SAFE’s bank account. Worthy was subsequently charged with 34 felonies, encompassing misuse of public funds, bank fraud, wage theft, and passing bad checks, casting a shadow over her tenure.
By July 2024, the District Attorney’s office, led at the time by Brooke Jenkins, filed numerous charges against Worthy, who allegedly misused $700,000 of public funds during her time in charge. Among the extravagant expenditures was a high-profile event attended by now-state Assemblymember Catherine Stefani and former SFPD Chief Bill Scott, which saw $6,000 spent on an event planner and nearly $50,000 on catering, featuring an open bar and gourmet food.
According to the indictment, Worthy’s spending habits included over $24,000 at Marshall’s, illustrating a pattern of alleged financial misconduct. Despite these serious allegations, Worthy is now pursuing a civil case against SF SAFE for back pay, claiming to be owed a final paycheck and accrued vacation time.
This legal claim occurs in the aftermath of Worthy leaving the nonprofit with a negative balance of $16 in their accounts. The San Francisco Chronicle revealed through its investigations that Worthy’s annual salary as executive director was $157,000. Added to the controversy, an anonymous former employee expressed outrage over Worthy’s lawsuit, noting that other employees also did not receive their final paychecks—amounting to approximately $80,000—after the nonprofit’s dissolution.
Moreover, the extravagant spending continued just months before Worthy’s lawsuit when SF SAFE allocated $98,000 for an event dubbed Halloween Candy Explosion, which included significant expenditures on desserts, a taco truck, entertainment such as bouncy houses, and even luxury mobile restrooms.
Worthy’s civil lawsuit is separate from the criminal proceedings regarding her alleged embezzlement, in which she has pleaded not guilty. While her criminal defense is being managed by a court-appointed attorney, for the civil trial she is reportedly acting as her own attorney. It remains to be seen how the court will navigate Worthy’s claims for back pay amid the serious allegations of financial misconduct that led to her indictment.
As these events unfold, the financial scandals surrounding SF SAFE continue to capture public attention, raising questions about the management of taxpayer-funded nonprofits and the oversight of their financial practices.
image source from：sfist
