Officials announced on Tuesday that the former director of a nonprofit organization in San Francisco that has since closed is being charged with 34 felonies for allegedly squandering $700,000 in funding.
The former executive director of SF SAFE, Kyra Worthy, 49, of Richmond, was taken into custody by detectives on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the office of District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.
Worthy is accused of a number of crimes, including grand theft, writing checks with inadequate funds—a technique known as “check kiting”—stealing from employees, misappropriating public monies, and more.
Prosecutors claim that SF SAFE was a group that collaborated with the San Francisco Police Department. After running for almost 50 years, the group shuttered its doors earlier this year.
SF SAFE hired Worthy in 2018. Prosecutors claimed the gang had financial stockpiles exceeding $300,000 when she joined the group.
“Despite SF SAFE receiving millions of dollars in public and private funds over the next five years, Ms. Worthy’s theft and mismanagement resulted in the 48-year-old charity having no assets and ceasing operations in January of 2024,” the DA’s office stated.
In the affidavit, it is stated that Worthy failed to pay two organizations that were a part of the contract, Bay Area Community Resources and Calle 24 Latino District, and instead embezzled more than $500,000 from the city’s Office of Employment and Workforce Development, which was meant for a “Mission Safe Streets” application.
She allegedly used more than $100,000 in SF SAFE monies for personal expenses, according to the complaint. Worthy is accused of paying her landlord and her parents’ home nursing provider in North Carolina with money from the organization.
In addition, Worthy is charged with 24 counts of theft of wages when it was said that she neglected to deduct and pay payroll taxes for 27 workers between September 2023 and January 2024, the month the organization closed. About $80,000 was allegedly stolen in wages, according to the prosecution.
The complaint also describes extravagant expenses incurred when the group was nearing financial collapse, such as $350,000 in opulent gift boxes, $98,000 for an October 2017 “Halloween Candy Explosion” event, and over $50,000 for an SF SAFE holiday celebration.
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Because of the group’s affiliation with the SFPD, police requested that the DA’s Office look into the organization.
During the course of the inquiry, it was discovered that a portion of the funds that Worthy is accused of stealing came from a donation to SF SAFE made by a person who knew Jenkins professionally. Prosecutors said that the district attorney withdrew herself from the investigation and possible prosecution in February out of an abundance of caution.
If you have any information, please contact the Public Integrity Task Force tip line at 628-652-4444, which is run by the DA’s office.
