Former San Francisco official Sheryl Davis and nonprofit executive James Spingola were arrested Monday and charged with multiple felonies in a scheme involving conflicts of interest and the diversion of city funds for personal gain.
Davis previously led the Dream Keeper Initiative, a program created by former San Francisco Mayor London Breed. The program was intended to redistribute $120 million into the black community in San Francisco, following the death of George Floyd in May 2020. The program, controversial in its own right, took funding from law enforcement and funneled it into programs intended to lessen systemic poverty and inequality.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said Davis redirected some of these funds toward personal expenditures, including first-class flights, concerts, and hiring public relations to promote her book and brand.
Davis is charged with 13 felony counts of having a financial conflict of interest in a government contract, one felony count of misappropriating public funds, one misdemeanor count of receiving gifts from a restricted source, and one misdemeanor count of having a financial conflict of interest in a government decision, according to the district attorney’s press release.
Spingola is charged with four felonies counts of aiding and abetting Davis’s conflict of interest in contracts with both the city and Collective Impact, a nonprofit that received city funds. Both Spingola and Davis were involved with Collective Impact, with Davis working as the executive director of the nonprofit until 2019, when she left and Spingola took over.
Nonetheless, Davis remained involved in Collective Impact’s finances.
According to the affidavit, Davis directed more than $4.5 million in Dream Keeper Initiative funds to Collective Impact. She also was involved in determining how these funds were spent. Further, while Davis led the Human Rights Campaign, she kept one foot in the door at Collective Impact, allegedly directing funds to HRC and for her own personal benefit.
“Ms. Davis was funneling City money to Collective Impact, while also steering how Collective Impact spent its funds, both for HRC use and for her personal benefit. Her financial interest was not only that her personal and home life, including her rent, were partially funded by Mr. Spingola’s Collective Impact salary — a fact she never disclosed,” the press release reads.
Further, the affidavit alleges Davis gave the Homeless Children’s Network $3.5 million in city funds. The organization ultimately paid Davis’s son $140,000, and the money was deposited into a bank account that Davis accessed.
“We have to hold government actors accountable, certainly when they are abusing the trust of San Franciscans, when they are abusing taxpayer dollars, and in this case using funds that are supposed to be targeted towards the black community…and that money was lost,” Jenkins said Monday.
Spingola and Davis are also allegedly romantically involved. According to Jenkins, the pair has lived together since 2015 and their finances are intertwined.
Davis’s attorney, Tony Brass, said she was set up for failure.
“They provided her with no guidance about transitioning into government bureaucracy and asked her to develop a robust system to help those in need to advance not only individuals but San Francisco as a city where the black community could thrive,” he said.
Spingola’s attorney, Randall Knox, also released a statement on behalf of his client.
“James Spingola is presumed innocent under the law and I have confidence in our justice system. I have not seen the evidence against him, so I am not able to say more,” Knox said.
Davis also allegedly coordinated the sale of a book she wrote to a public library for her own personal profit.
“Public integrity matters because our communities must be able to trust that government agencies treat everyone fairly and serve all members equally,” Jenkins said.