‘Booze and cigars and motorcycle rentals': SF city attorney accuses nonprofit operator of submitting false invoices

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office moved to bar the operator of a well-known nonprofit organization this week from being able to accept city funding for five years.

The city attorney accuses Drew Jenkins and the nonprofit he operates, the J&J Community Resource Center, of submitting false invoices and double billing to the tune of at least $100,000.

It's the second nonprofit that's come under scrutiny following examinations by city agencies.

"There was double billing going on with multiple grants. There were fake invoices that had been forged or fabricated off of legitimate invoices,” said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu. “There had been reimbursement for ineligible expenses like booze and cigars and motorcycle rentals that they shouldn't have."

NBC Bay Area profiled Jenkins and the J&J Community Resource Center last summer for the work they do in the community.

Jenkins did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the city attorney's allegations.

Chiu said his office and other city agencies are cracking down on nonprofits and companies that get city funding.

"This is a warning to all bad actors who are trying to take advantage of the public trust,” he said. “We will find out about your misdeeds, we will cut off your funding."

This comes as the fallout continues from the collapse of a different nonprofit called SF Safe.

SF Safe has worked closely with the police department. Photos of flower centerpieces that were arranged for one of the organization's events last year show SFPD’s logo on the signs in the background.

Those flowers were put together by Katie Militante and her staff at Diosa Blooms in the Mission district, and they never got paid for them.

"They owe about $17,400,” said Militante. 

SF Safe came under scrutiny earlier this year, and the police department asked the city controller to conduct an audit.

"We found at least $79,655 was spent on ineligible and/or excessive expenses, including luxury gift boxes, a Lake Tahoe symposium trip, recurring parking fees/permits, and ride-hailing services,” the audit’s executive summary read.

Since then, the nonprofit has closed operations.

Hanging on the door of its headquarters in the Mission is a sign from its landlord demanding  more than $445,000.

Militante said the former executive director of SF Safe used to be a regular customer at her flower shop, which is just across the street from its former offices.

"I would say she would always ask for something really lush, bold, really big,” she said.

She said other groups accuse SF Safe of owing them hundreds of thousands of dollars, and her outstanding bill of $17,000 pales in comparison

But as a small business, they're struggling to stay afloat.

Meanwhile, the District Attorney's Office has also opened up a criminal​ inquiry of the spending by SF Safe.

NBC Bay Area tried reaching out to the organization's former executive director but were not able to make contact.