Overview
- Gwendolyn Westbrook, 71, appeared in court Tuesday, postponed the formal reading of charges, and is due back March 9.
- She faces nine felony counts: misappropriation of public funds, three counts of grand theft, presenting a false invoice, and four counts of filing false California tax returns.
- Prosecutors allege that between 2019 and 2023 she exercised near-exclusive financial control and diverted money through undocumented cash withdrawals, self-issued payments, and fraudulent reimbursements.
- Investigators report $1.2 million was transferred to her personal accounts and cite spending on luxury vehicles, jewelry, and retailers such as Louis Vuitton and Neiman Marcus, with about $1.4 million more still unaccounted for.
- The case followed a 2022 city controller audit of UCHS, a longtime city contractor that received nearly $28 million, prompting referrals to the district attorney and FBI and the state’s suspension of the nonprofit’s tax-exempt status.