Former SF nonprofit director arrested on 34 felony charges

SAN FRANCISCO ( KRON ) — The former director of a San Francisco-based nonprofit has been arrested for allegedly misusing public funds and submitting fraudulent invoices to the city, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. Kyra Worthy, 49, of Richmond, the former executive director of the nonprofit SF SAFE, was arrested on 34 felony charges.

The charges, according to the DA, were related to misappropriation of public money, submitting fraudulent invoices to a city department, theft from SF SAFE, wage theft from employees, failing to pay withheld employee taxes, and writing checks with insufficient funds to defraud a bank.

Worthy is accused of having illegally misused over $700,000 during her tenure in charge of the nonprofit. Worthy was arrested Tuesday by SFDA’s Office District Attorney Investigators.

SF SAFE, according to the DA, was a long-standing nonprofit that partnered with the San Francisco Police Department.

“Because of SF SAFE’s relationship with SFPD, SFPD asked the District Attorney’s Office to undertake this investigation,” the DA’s office said.

As part of the investigation, the DA’s office said it executed 25 search warrants, obtained hundreds of thousands of pages of financial and business records and interviewed more than two dozen witnesses.

According to an affidavit cited by the DA, Worthy committed one count of grand theft by embezzlement in “unlawfully and fraudulently” using more than $100,000 of SF SAFE funds for her own use. In 2019 and 2020, Worthy allegedly spent more than $90,000 of the nonprofit’s funds on home healthcare for her parents in North Carolina.

The affidavit, according to the DA, also details how Worthy “lavishly spent” SF SAFE funds on parties, events, interior designers, furniture and travel. The affidavit further states that when Worthy was hired in early 2018, the nonprofit had cash reserves in excess of $300,000.

“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 said.

An investigation also revealed that some of the money Worthy allegedly stole was “derived from a substantial donation” to SF SAFE made by someone with a “professional relationship” with San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. DA Jenkins has recused herself from the investigation and potential prosecution of this case out of an “abundance of caution.”

KRON4 reached out to the San Francisco Police Department for comment and received the following reply:

“The SFPD thanks the District Attorney's office for its thorough investigation and diligent work on this case.”

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