Former head of the San Francisco Human Rights Fee Sheryl Davis pleaded not responsible to 19 counts of self-dealing and misusing taxpayer funds — as her legal professional launched a fiery protection, saying his consumer had begged for assist from the town.
Davis, clad in a black blazer and pink footwear, was surrounded by supporters and protection legal professional Tony Brass at San Francisco Superior Courtroom Thursday as she entered the courtroom in silence to enter pleas of not responsible to a battery of costs stemming from her time main the Dream Keeper Initiative, a $120 million program to assist the town’s black neighborhood that imploded in scandal in 2024.
“She’s not a criminal, she’s not hiding something,” Brass advised reporters.
Brass stated Davis had been forthcoming with investigators and repeatedly advised the town she wanted staffing assist in working the huge spending plan.
“She was the one asking for accountability. If she was making the most of the system, why would she have ever accomplished that?” Brass added.
Davis is accused of a “pervasive sample of self-dealing” throughout her time main the Dream Keeper Initiative, launched in 2021 in response to the police killing of George Floyd.
She allegedly used her accomplice James Spingola’s nonprofit, Collective Impression, as a “slush fund” to assist pay for PR for her kids’s guide, celebrity-studded occasions and different bills described as “frivolous” by a previous metropolis audit — as she was directing tens of millions in metropolis funds in direction of the group.
She allegedly paid a $10,000 talking price to Sonya Curry, mom of Warriors star Steph Curry, and paid out tens of 1000’s to artists like Goapele to carry out at city-sponsored occasions — and the launch celebration for her kids’s guide, “Free to Sing.”
She and Spingola, who lived collectively, shared financial institution accounts and she or he allegedly wielded important sway over Collective Impression, which she led earlier than becoming a member of the Human Rights Fee as director in 2018.
Davis additionally allegedly splurged on expensive events utilizing metropolis funds, together with an ice rink rental, DJ floral preparations and catering in Philadelphia costing $2.1 million, $267,000 on gala tickets and sponsorships, and $60,000 for a venue rental at the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Middle.
Davis additionally authorized tens of millions in grants to a different nonprofit, Homeless Kids’s Community, that paid out $140,000 to her younger son for analysis help.
“Ms. Davis was funneling metropolis cash to Collective Impression, whereas additionally steering how Collective Impression spent its funds, each for [Human Rights Commission] use and for her private profit,” prosecutors stated.
Brass stated the town knew about her ties to Collective Impression after they employed her to guide the Human Rights Fee.
“The mission of the company was to get cash to the fingers of the individuals who wanted it in a short time, instantly — and Collective Impression … was the route by which the cash was going to go,” Brass stated.
Davis is due again in court docket on Might 6.
