CEO of non-profit organization SF Homeless accused of lavish lifestyle, ignoring drugs and sex work

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In a lawsuit filed this week, the director of a San Francisco nonprofit that shelters and feeds the homeless is accused of diverting funds to maintain a “luxury” lifestyle while drug use and prostitution are said to have been out of control. organization’s living quarters.

The complaint against the United Board of Human Services (UCHS), formerly known as Mother Brown’s Kitchen, and its CEO, Gwendoline Westbrook, was filed Wednesday in the San Francisco Supreme Court and comes just months after a city audit revealed red flags regarding organization.

UCHS has received tens of millions of dollars in city and federal grants over the past two decades, but the use of these funds has been poorly documented, city officials say. In November, City Comptroller Ben Rosenfield and City Attorney David Chiu wrote a letter to the FBI and the District Attorney’s office urging the agencies to open a criminal investigation into UCHS, whose charitable status was suspended by the state’s Attorney General last summer.

Noel Robinson, the plaintiff named in court documents, accuses Westbrook of “living a lifestyle that doesn’t match her stated salary,” which was $155,000 a year in 2015.

Westbrook allegedly told staff that she had purchased and paid for several cars in recent years, including a Tesla for herself, a Jeep Renegade for a close family friend and two cars for cousins, and gave an Infiniti SUV to her niece. Meanwhile, the suit states that Westbrook was known to be driving around with a “chest full of expensive jewelry” that was obtained from one of the nonprofit’s directors.

Brian Berglund, board member and owner of the St. Andrew Jewelers in Concord did not respond to a message left with the business asking for comment. However, the company’s website has a note about UCHS’ work between the reviews and a promise to help customers “find something special for that special person.”

Forms filed with the IRS show that UCHS generally does not disclose how large amounts of money were spent, and the lawsuit notes that a 2019 federal tax form showed $2.1 million in “other” expenses that were not itemized according to with the requirements of the law. The Standard reviewed UCHS tax filings with experts who said the accounting raised “huge red flags” and showed “incompetence”.

Robinson said he was suspended and eventually fired last May after expressing concern about the behavior of Westbrook’s nephew, who became a UCHS resident and employee after his release from a Texas prison. Westbrook previously told The Standard that about 20 of her friends, relatives and employees have taken over housing meant for San Francisco’s most needy residents. A City Inspectorate audit found that some UCHS residents did not go through the proper protocols to gain access to housing.

Westbrook’s nephew allegedly started confrontations with Robinson and others at a recreational vehicle (RV) residence at Pier 94, in addition to drugging the property and recruiting sex workers. The complaint notes that Robinson raised these concerns to Westbrook several times, only to be told to “leave my damn nephew alone!”

According to the complaint, the organization’s city funding increased dramatically last year. On Feb. 1, the city awarded six new $36.4 million in grants to the Bayview Hunters Point Foundation, a nonprofit organization that serves as a financial sponsor of UCHS and has been named a defendant in the lawsuit. The grants included almost $10 million to fund the Pier 94 site, where drug use and prostitution were alleged to have taken place.

“[Robinson] feared that the self-indulgence he and others had observed in Westbrook and its immediate surroundings would not only continue but increase and threaten the future of the Pier 94 shelter he built and defended for two years,” the complaint reads. “To the contrary, Westbrook and company appear to have recognized the threat an employee whistleblower would pose to increasing grant money.”

Robinson said he has been in physical and emotional pain since he was fired last spring, and Westbrook has allegedly started spreading false rumors about him. He seeks damages for wrongful dismissal, retaliation and defamation, among other claims. Former financial backers of UCHS, including the Bayview Hunters Point Foundation and Heluna Health, were also named as defendants.

However, Bayview Hunters Point Foundation officials told The Standard that they recently reached a settlement with Robinson and rehired him.

Westbrook declined to comment by phone Thursday afternoon.

Sean Richard, deputy director of UCHS, called The Standard Thursday night and disputed the allegations in the lawsuit, noting that an internal investigation found that Robinson was the one who broke the law.

“Noel was doing something illegal that he shouldn’t have done and it’s back to [Westbrook]”said Richard, who only started at UCHS last October. “He felt like he could just do what he wanted.”

The complaint states that Westbrook falsely told people several times that she fired Robinson for stealing Capri Suns, calling her a “bitch”, selling trailers and drugs, and “trading company property for sex with homeless women.”

Robinson’s lawyer declined The Standard’s request for an interview.

Richard said that Westbrook “never controlled the money” of UCHS, and the city made a big deal out of it by calling for a criminal investigation involving the FBI.

“There are always two sides to every story,” Richard said, “and there are actually four, because there are four sides to every corner: the truth, the lie, the middle, and the person who really knows what’s going on.”

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