Gwendolyn Westbrook, SF Homeless Nonprofit CEO, Charged With Nine Felony Embezzlement Counts

Gwendolyn Westbrook, 71, the longtime executive director of the United Council of Human Services, was charged with nine felonies after San Francisco prosecutors say they uncovered large diversions of public grant money from the homeless services nonprofit. Charging materials filed by the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Task Force allege unauthorized self-payments, improper cash withdrawals and fraudulent reimbursements between 2019 and 2023.

The charging papers list one count of misappropriation of public funds, three counts of grand theft, one count of filing a fraudulent invoice and four counts of filing false state tax returns, a total of nine felony counts. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, whose office brought the case, said prosecutors view the matter as a significant loss of taxpayer dollars that undercut services for people living on the street. Jenkins said, “You’re talking about millions of dollars being lost to that effort, that our taxpayer dollars while every day we sit and deal with people who are still struggling on our streets.”

Prosecutors have traced roughly $1.2 million to accounts linked to Westbrook, while court materials assert additional large withdrawals from UCHS accounts remain unaccounted for. Some filings allege total misappropriations exceeding $2.5 million, while other documents and reporting emphasize the $1.2 million figure and a separate direct theft allegation of $91,000 taken from the nonprofit’s accounts. The alleged timeframe for the transactions cited in court documents is 2019 through 2023.

Court exhibits and a February 2023 civil suit by former UCHS employee Noel Robinson describe personal spending prosecutors say was funded with nonprofit dollars. Specific items listed in complaints include a Tesla, a Jeep Renegade and an Infiniti SUV, vehicles reportedly purchased for Westbrook, a close family friend and relatives, and allegations that she transported a “trunk full of high-priced jewelry.” The Robinson lawsuit also alleges payments for family weddings and fertility treatments and asserts Westbrook’s lifestyle was inconsistent with a reported 2015 salary of $155,000.

San Francisco city attorney David Chiu, who investigated Westbrook’s activities, said in a statement that Westbrook “enriched herself and misappropriated millions of dollars in public funding meant to benefit the community.” The District Attorney’s Public Integrity Task Force led the criminal probe; prosecutors say Westbrook ran a city-sponsored homeless encampment during the pandemic as part of her nonprofit work.

Westbrook was booked into the county jail on Friday, posted bail over the weekend and is no longer listed in custody. She is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Hall of Justice, where initial pleas and a timetable for further proceedings will be set. The arraignment and the DA’s forthcoming filings are expected to clarify the precise totals and legal counts prosecutors will pursue.