CEO of LGBTQ+A Palm Springs, California, organization was charged with stealing $940,000 from the city, Riverside County, and other entities.
A Riverside County grand jury indicted Queer Works CEO Jacob Rostofsky on 53 felonies, including grand theft, embezzlement of public funds, insurance fraud, perjury, and money laundering. desert sun I will report it. The charges were filed a week ago and announced Wednesday by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. Mr. Rostofsky posted bail of $944,000 and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Rostofsky is the founder of Queer Works, a company founded to provide mental health services to transgender and non-binary people in Palm Springs and the surrounding area. Located in the Southern California desert, this city and region has a large LGBTQ+ population.
“In March 2022, the City of Palm Springs agreed to provide $200,000 to Queer Works to develop a universal basic income pilot program,” one person said. press release From Attorney General Mike Hestrin’s office. “In July 2022, the Palm Springs City Council approved a request for an additional $500,000 in matching funds for the Universal Basic Income grant that Queer Works was pursuing in collaboration with the State of California.Universal Basic Income Program was to provide $800 per month in stipends to 180 participants.” Riverside County also provided funding. Early reports indicated that the universal basic income program would focus on trans residents.
But some of the funds were transferred to Mr. Rostovsky’s personal checking account, the DA’s office said. Prosecutors said Rostofsky made false statements and submitted falsified documents to the county government and the city of Palm Springs in order to obtain more than $840,000 that was supposed to go towards basic income programs and housing. 89 cases were identified. assistance. Rostovsky used some of the money for personal expenses, including purchases at Disney, Burberry and the Beverly Garland Hotel in Los Angeles, the prosecutor’s office alleges.
He “filed fraudulent insurance claims against Queer Works by impersonating Queer Works customers,” collected an additional $90,000, and “subsequently negotiated a settlement with Queer Works’ insurance company, Philadelphia Insurance.” and the proceeds ultimately went to Rostovsky himself.” The press release says: In addition, the attorney’s office said he “engaged in multiple money laundering activities related to the allegedly fraudulently obtained funds.”
This was announced by the Palm Springs City Government. statement About the charges. “The City of Palm Springs fully supports the Riverside County District Attorney’s efforts to investigate and prosecute Mr. Jacob Rostofsky for allegedly defrauding city, county, and state taxpayers of hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the statement read. are. “The 53 felony charges include fraud, grand larceny and embezzlement of public funds. The city recognizes that all criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise. , is deeply concerned about these charges, particularly the misuse of tax dollars, and will fully cooperate with the investigation to ensure accountability.
“Although the indictment includes allegations involving various government agencies, including Riverside County and the State of California, six of the felonies are explicitly linked to the City of Palm Springs’ Universal Basic Income Pilot Program. We are aware that the City is committed to ensuring full accountability for public funds and has already taken significant steps to prevent incidents like this from occurring in the future. We are taking the following steps.
These measures include eliminating lump-sum payments for grants exceeding $75,000; Require independent audits of groups receiving grants of this size. Require periodic reporting from organizations receiving city funds. Improve the review process. Specifies oversight by city staff. and provide training to these staff.
Last year, the California Department of Public Health also agreed to give Queer Works a $500,000 grant for gender-affirming care. desert sun I will report it. About $150,000 of the grant was paid out in February, but this summer, after learning of Riverside County’s investigation, they cut off further funding and terminated the grant agreement. So far, it appears that no funds have been misused, but the department is determining whether further action is needed.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
