A nonprofit that provides services to homeless people in San Francisco has been accused of $100,000 fraud and nepotism.
The industry built on supposedly helping the homelessness in San Francisco means that those raking in money from donations want to keep the crisis going.
Considering the city wastes hundreds of millions of dollars on finding solutions to crises that never seem to materialize, $100,000 isn’t all that much. The fact that people are getting very rich on the back of other people’s suffering is common in Democrat-run cities.
New: The Providence Foundation of San Francisco, a homeless shelter operator under investigation for alleged wage theft, is accused of ‘blatant’ fraud. @SFCityAttorney has suspended the nonprofit from receiving any new city funds. https://t.co/cw3qivib6L
— Maggie Angst (@MaggieAngst) May 6, 2024
CBS News Bay Area reported:
A San Francisco-based nonprofit that provides services to the homeless has been suspended amid allegations of fraud and nepotism, officials announced Monday.
City Attorney David Chiu initiated debarment proceedings against the Providence Foundation of San Francisco and suspended the organization from receiving new city contracts or grants, effective immediately.
“This nonprofit took over $100,000 of public money meant to benefit people experiencing homelessness. That cannot be tolerated,” Chiu said in a statement.
“My office’s work to root out bad actors who take advantage of our public resources continues. We will find out about your misdeeds, cut off your funding, and hold you accountable.”
Providence has received at least $105,000 from the city based on what the city attorney describes as “blatantly fraudulent” invoices. The invoices stem from renovation work at the Oasis Hotel on Franklin Street, which the group operates as a shelter for families experiencing homelessness.
Officials said work was supposed to include repainting the exterior and removing deadbolt locks at the hotel, but the work was not performed.
The Los Angeles Times reported:
The announcement Monday came after Chiu’s office said it discovered that the Providence Foundation falsified invoices in 2022 for work related to the Oasis Hotel, a shelter for families experiencing homelessness.
The San Francisco-based nonprofit, which began operating the shelter in 2021, claimed it had painted the outside of the hotel and removed deadbolt locks, but no work was actually performed, officials said.
The city paid the nonprofit $105,000 for the work it claimed in the invoices.
“There’s a difference between having challenges with financial compliance and intentionally defrauding the city and its taxpayers,” Chiu said.
“This nonprofit took over $100,000 of public money meant to benefit people experiencing homelessness. That cannot be tolerated.”
In an email response to The Times, Vernon C. Goins, attorney for the nonprofit, said the Providence Foundation was aware of the allegations and “fully cooperating with the city and county of San Francisco investigation.”
“Any action by the City and County of San Francisco to prohibit, prevent or ban the Providence Foundation of San Francisco from participating in the procurement process for contracts or from entering into contracts directly or indirectly with, or applying for or receiving grants, from the City are unfounded and baseless,” he added.
“If debarment proceedings are initiated, the Providence Foundation of San Francisco is confident that it will successfully prove that it never engaged in any willful misconduct as to any City grant or contract.”
READ: San Francisco Official Says $5 million in Reparations ‘Not Enough’
