Former San Francisco human rights chief, nonprofit exec charged in corruption case

By Tim Fang

The former head of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission along with the executive director of a local nonprofit are facing multiple felony charges following an investigation into alleged corruption, prosecutors said.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office announced Monday that 57-year-old Sheryl Davis, who was the commission’s executive director, has been charged with 17 felony counts, including conflict of interest in a government contract, misappropriating public funds and perjury.

Davis has also been charged with receiving gifts from a restricted source and having a financial conflict of interest in a government decision, both misdemeanors.

Prosecutors have also charged 65-year-old James Spingola, the former executive director of the nonprofit Collective Impact, with four felonies for allegedly aiding and abetting Davis’s conflict of interest in four city contracts with the nonprofit.

Jenkins’ office alleges Davis had a “pervasive pattern of self-dealing” when she headed the commission, which was responsible for distributing tens of millions in city funds as part of the Dream Keeper Initiative. The program, which was launched by former mayor London Breed in the wake of George Floyd’s death, was intended to invest in the city’s African-American and other underserved communities.

According to an affidavit, Davis allegedly directed more than $4.5 million in Dream Keeper funds to Collective Impact, which she headed before being appointed to lead the Human Rights Commission.

Prosecutors said after she left the nonprofit to work for the city, Davis remained a signatory on the nonprofit’s bank account, raised money for the group and helped steer spending. The affidavit also states Davis lived, traveled and shared bank accounts and a car with Spingola.

“This financial intermingling resulted in Ms. Davis having a direct financial interest in the contracts executed,” the DA’s office said in a statement. “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.”

The affidavit also said Davis signed contracts awarding more than $3.5 million in city funds to the group Homeless Children’s Network, an organization that paid Davis’s son nearly $140,000.

Davis is also accused of signing contracts giving hundreds of thousands in city funds to a public relations firm that did PR work for Davis personally and for Collective Impact. The affidavit also alleges Davis improperly spent her department’s discretionary funds, failed to disclose gifts, accepted prohibited gifts from Collective Impact, and facilitated the sale of copies of her book to the San Francisco Public Library, from which she made a profit.

Both Davis and Spignola surrendered to authorities Monday morning and were booked into the San Francisco County Jail. Prosecutors said they were expected to post bail.

Attorney Tony Brass, who is representing Davis, said in a statement that she had informed the City Attorney about potential conflicts of interest and that the city “hand picked” Davis from Collective Impact due to her experience and connections in the business of helping the city’s Black community.

“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,” Brass said. “She asked for financial supervision, she asked for internal audits and when no one responded, she actually went to Board of Supervisors to ask for funding so that she could staff these positions. This means that she was asking for MORE transparency not less.”

CBS News Bay Area has reached out to Spingola’s attorney for comment.

The pair were charged following an 18-month investigation by the DA’s office Public Integrity Unit, in which more than 50 search warrants were issued.