Gwendolyn Westbrook, the former chief executive of a San Francisco nonprofit once linked to a shuttered Richmond bingo hall, was charged this week with stealing and misappropriating more than $1.2 million in public funds, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Monday.
Westbrook, the former CEO of San Francisco-based United Council for Human Services, faces nine felony charges, including misappropriation of public funds, three counts of grand theft, presenting a false invoice for payment, and four counts of filing false California tax returns for tax years 2020 through 2023.
Richmond residents may remember UCHS as the San Francisco nonprofit that operated Marina Bay Bingo Hall before city officials shut it down in November 2015. Authorities later acknowledged the hall had operated for years without required financial reports, audits, background checks, or verification that it met California’s nonprofit bingo laws. The closure followed mounting concerns about regulatory failures, alleged unauthorized gambling activities, and the criminal histories of some operators.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, retired Richmond police Officer Michael Rood said the venue had a backroom with unpermitted blackjack tables and other forms of gambling, though operators denied the tables were used for illegal games. Rood said Richmond referred its criminal probe to the state Department of Justice.
Westbrook appeared before the Richmond City Council at the time to contest the shutdown, saying the closure was mishandled.
“We received no warning, no notice, no letter, nothing,” Westbrook told the council in 2015. “There was a slight oversight with our license renewal, but we’ve been operating here for four years and supporting charities throughout Richmond. This is the community where we work and give back. To shut us down like this, right before the holidays, when people were depending on that income, was unnecessary. It felt like there was no regard for us as human beings.”
Westbrook has faced legal trouble before. In 1997, she was charged with grand theft for allegedly stealing parking lot collections while working at the Port of San Francisco.
Westbrook rose to lead UCHS and control nearly $28 million in San Francisco public funds used to operate shelters, dining rooms, veteran housing, and other services for low-income and homeless San Francisco residents. A 2022 audit by the San Francisco Controller's Office, reported by the San Francisco Standard, found serious mismanagement at the organization, including evidence that access to housing had been illegally sold to residents. The findings prompted San Francisco's city controller and city attorney to alert the FBI and the DA's white collar crime division.
Former SF nonprofit CEO charged with stealing, misappropriating $1.2M meant for homeless residents
Prosecutors say Gwendolyn Westbrook stole $91,000 and misappropriated more than $1.2 million from the Bayview nonprofit she used to lead.
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San Francisco prosecutors allege that between 2019 and 2023, Westbrook funneled more than $1.2 million to herself through undocumented cash withdrawals and self-issued payments.
Westbrook is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, February 24, at 1:30 p.m. at San Francisco's Hall of Justice.
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