UNEXPECTEDLY: SF Homeless Nonprofit CEO Charged with Nine Felonies for Allegedly Misappropriating over $1M in Public Funds.

The former CEO of a San Francisco-based homelessness nonprofit was charged Monday with nine felony counts after allegedly misappropriating more than $1.2 million in public funds.

Gwendolyn Westbrook, 71, is the former CEO of the United Council of Human Services. Charges against Westbrook include misappropriation of public funds, grand theft, and filing four years of false tax returns.

According to prosecutors, Westbrook misappropriated the $1.2 million through unauthorized payments to herself, improper cash withdrawals, and fraudulent reimbursements from 2019 to 2023. Prosecutors also claim Westbrook directly stole $91,000 from the United Council of Human Services. Court documents show that other large amounts of money are also missing from UCHS accounts.

The nonprofit has long faced scrutiny for its practices.

A 2022 audit by the city controller’s office found deeper issues with the group. UCHS, which had received close to $28 million in city funds, failed to place tenants in appropriate housing, failed to accurately calculate rent prices, and disregarded required hiring processes.

In 2023, “Gavin Newsom’s 10-year plan to end San Francisco homelessness [marked] 20-year anniversary.” Along the way, in December of 2009, SF Weekly had this classic Fox Butterfield-esque line: “Despite its spending more money per capita on homelessness than any comparable city, [San Francisco’s] homeless problem is worse than any comparable city’s.”