Former San Francisco city official Stanley Ellicott pleaded guilty Thursday to embezzling more than $600,000 in city funds and participating in a fraudulent scheme by another former city employee, according to several local media reports.
Former assistant director of finance and technology for the city's Department of Human Resources (DHR) Workers' Compensation Division took multiple hits for the first time criminal charges in January for his alleged role in a scheme to misappropriate grant funds awarded through the city's Community Challenge grant program. By March Ellicott was arrested on 62 criminal charges related to the theft of more than $627,000 directly from his own department.
In the first round of charges in January, officials accused Ellicott of aiding former Community Challenge Grant director Lanita Enriquez in misappropriating public money for her own use and that of others. Enriquez allegedly stole money from the city through contracts negotiated with her ex-boyfriend, former Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, an employee of Mayor Rudolph Dwayne Jones. (RELATED: GOP Mayor Won't Give Up on California's Sanctuary City Lawsuit)
Notably, Newsom's former chief of staff Dana Williamson was arrested He was charged Nov. 12 with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and other crimes.
During this period, Jones allegedly paid kickbacks to Ellicott, who then passed them on to Enriquez. Although the original complaint accused Ellicott of receiving stolen property, there was no evidence at the time of his alleged criminal activity related to his employment with San Francisco DHR.
Officials said Enriquez allegedly entered into contracts on behalf of the City and County of San Francisco with entities controlled by Jones totaling more than $1.4 million. During this time, Ellicott worked for the city and Jones' company, RDJ Enterprises, allegedly paid him a total of $269,876.24. The payments were then allegedly returned to Enriquez via Venmo and PayPal totaling $65,650.26.
A runner runs through Crissy Field at the San Francisco Presidio on February 20, 2025. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Enriquez and Jones were indicted on a 59-count indictment filed in August 2023, officials said. They were charged with misappropriation of public funds, numerous counts of bribery and numerous counts of financial conflict of interest.
According to San Francisco In March, the District Attorney's Office filed a second set of charges against Ellicott for stealing $627,118.86 over a four-and-a-half year period from May 2019 to January 2024. The complaint alleges one count of grand theft, one count of theft of government money, ten counts of insurance fraud and 50 counts of money laundering.
At the time of the alleged crimes, Ellicott was responsible for overseeing the financial integrity of the Workers' Compensation Division as an assistant director. He allegedly instructed his friend to register a fictitious business in Illinois called “IAG Services” and open a bank account for the company, giving Ellicott complete control.
Through the fictitious business, Ellicott then allegedly registered it as a vendor in the workers' compensation system and over time billed more than 600 city employees for audit compensation claims.
At Ellicott's request, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins told the Chronicle that the former assistant director's conviction demonstrates the office's “ongoing commitment to rooting out corruption in the community.”
“San Franciscans have the right to expect that city employees will act with integrity in the performance of their public responsibilities and will not seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the public,” Jenkins told the publication. “This conviction comes nearly two years after the original charges were filed and demonstrates my office’s ongoing commitment to rooting out public corruption.”
Because Ellicott pleaded guilty, he faces three years in prison and is due back in court on Jan. 2, 2026, for sentencing, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
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