By Susan Bassi and Fred Johnson
The Tainted Trials, Tarnished Headlines Stolen Justice series is an ongoing media investigation reporting on the impact of a secret judge led Bench- Bar- Media- Police Committee (BBMP) that operated in Santa Clara County out of the public eye from 1988 until it was shuttered in 2023.
For more than a decade, Ruth Patrick Darlene professed unwavering support for victims of domestic violence, channeling her dedication into a nonprofit she established shortly after her own divorce. Ruth named the nonprofit she founded, WomenSV, an acronym for Women of Means Escape Network Silicon Valley. Now, having dedicated years to garnering attention and support in Silicon Valley’s affluent Los Altos community, Ruth Patrick Darlene is allegedly planning her own escape to Kihei, Hawaii. A decision reportedly made just two months after the Vanguard reported over 50 women had come forward alleging WomenSV is operating an intricate high-asset case rigging scheme with local divorce attorneys.
Supported by local media outlets and respectable foundations over the years, Ruth 
convinced prominent members of the local community to sit on the WomenSV board. Wealthy Silicon Valley philanthropists and donors gave generously and promoted WomenSV Gilded Cage Fundraisers at the swanky Los Altos County Club.
In a relatively short period of time, WomenSV took in over $1.6 million in revenue. However, according to WomenSV tax returns, the donated funds largely went to pay Ruth Patrick Darlene’s salary and income for her adult children. As the nonprofit amassed $746,186 in assets by 2021, it paid out only $3,828 to victims of domestic violence in that same year.
Now, 65 women emotionally and financially devastated by the nonprofit, and the attorneys Ruth referred to handle their divorce cases, are demanding WomenSV be shuttered and the money Ruth Partick Darlene took using deceptive business practices and misinformation be returned to donors and taxpayers.
Misinformation Duped Donors and Domestic Violence Victims
Ruth Patrick Darlene allegedly orchestrated the divorce case rigging scheme through a misinformation campaign, with support from local divorce lawyers, the Los Altos Crier and San Jose Mercury newspaper. Both publications disseminated misleading information about the nonprofit, as the Crier’s publishers served on the WomenSV board. Dennis Young, CPA, the Crier’s publisher and WomenSV board member, also prepared the nonprofit’s tax returns.
Following the Vanguard’s initial reporting, Dennis Young seemingly resigned from his board position but continues to fundraise funds for the nonprofit through the Crier’s Holiday Fund. Liz Nyberg, the Crier’s co-owner, remains on the WomenSV advisory board.
Over the past decade, the Los Altos Crier has never publicly acknowledged the publisher’s board positions to readers, subscribers, or advertisers. Dennis Young has consistently ignored the Vanguard’s requests for comment on the Crier’s unethical publishing practices.
Additionally, the Crier has repeatedly ignored complaints from women who report being duped by the misleading information the Crier published over the years for the benefit of WomenSV and its founder.
On December 31, 2020, during the pandemic-related lockdown, the San Jose Mercury published an article urging its readers, subscribers, and advertisers to donate to WomenSV. The article featured a domestic violence case from years earlier, loosely connected to WomenSV. This solicitation occurred shortly after divorce attorney James Hoover was appointed to the WomenSV advisory board. During this period, WomenSV was reportedly acted as a referral service for divorce attorneys including for Nicole Ford, BJ Fadem, Sean Onderick, Hector Moreno, Donnelle Morgan, Yanna Sukhodrev, Natasha Parrett of the Hoge Fenton law firm and James McManis of the McManis Faulkner law firm.
As WomenSV enjoyed tax exempt status, the Los Altos Crier and Mercury news were regular attendees of the secret BBMP, previously exposed by the Vanguard. As BBMP members, Crier and Mercury reporters, editors, and publishers had exclusive access to local judges, prosecutors, divorce attorneys, and police officers involved in the county’s legal matters. Nearly every WomenSV client interviewed by the Vanguard reported being deceived into seeking support from WomenSV based on information they read in the Crier and San Jose Mercury news.
Women who claim to have been emotionally and financially devastated after reaching out to WomenSV for support during their divorce have united to circulate a petition on Change.org. They also spent several days leafleting upscale communities in Silicon Valley, and demanded the Los Altos Crier publish information about the harm caused by WomenSV as the Crier solicited donations and elevated the social and professional standing of its founder, Ruth Patrick Darlene.
Grandparents and parents upset with the family courts who are familiar with the Vanguard’s reporting on WomenSV have organized court watchers and are encouraging community members to support donations to the Davis Vanguard to help share the stories of the women, men and children adversely impacted by WomenSV and an alleged high asset divorce case rigging scheme.
Meet the 2023 WomenSV Board Members
The Vanguard has repeatedly reached out to WomenSV board and advisory board members for comment in advance of our reporting but had had no replies. The Vanguard has also reached out to GoPro, De Anza College Nursing Program, the Los Altos Community Foundation, and the Los Altos Crier for comment, and received no reply from the businesses that have supported WomenSV for over a decade.
A recent call to the Pro Bono Project’s Board of Directors revealed Rachel McKenzie had not disclosed to the board overseeing her employment that WomenSV had been the subject of the Vanguard’s reporting. When asked if McKenzie’s conduct and concealment of information from the Pro Bono Project rose to the level of violating the terms of her employment or qualified for mandated reporting under the state bar’s new Snitch Rule, the Pro Bono Board of Directors had “no comment”.
Government and Foundation Support
WomenSV initially operated under the Los Altos Community Foundation (LACF) and had assistance from the nonprofit business incubator, SCORE in establishing its business practices. The city council and mayors of Los Altos have supported WomenSV donations, and assisted the nonprofit in obtaining federal PPP money that largely went to pay the salary of Ruth Patrick Darlene as the nonprofit noted it was unable to help victims who reached out during the pandemic.
First Republic Bank processed the PPP loan for WomenSV as their bank manager sat on the WomenSV board and as a number of women reported they were referred to the bank to help them hide assets from a former spouse.
In 2021, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian ushered in $250,000 for WomenSV board and administrative tasks, not for victims of domestic violence. Joe Simitian recently announced his political campaign for Congress as he hopes to take the seat previously held by Anna Eshoo.
WomenSV Lawsuits Begin
As previously reported by the Vanguard, James Hoover is currently facing a malpractice lawsuit. Hoover is accused of charging his former client $350,000 for one year of legal services where he allegedly failed to perform basic tasks necessary to obtain a domestic violence restraining order and failed to obtain information necessary to assure for a fair division of community property in a divorce.
Months into the lawsuit, Hoover’s malpractice defense attorney filed a motion to shift the case into arbitration, relying on a clause in the firm’s retainer agreement. The motion is aimed to keep Hoover’s alleged wrongdoing out of public court. After the lawsuit had been filed and assigned to Judge Manoukian, and the request for arbitration had been made, Hoover’s former client countered with a motion to oppose arbitration.
In their opposition, Hoover’s former client claims James Hoover participated in a runner and capper, or ambulance chasing, scheme with WomenSV. The opposition, presented by Orange County attorney Pat Evans, included declarations from three other women who had encountered Hoover’s unethical practices in the local real estate industry and in connection with WomenSV. One declaration highlighted a transcript from a recording of a WomenSV support group session where James Hoover seemingly disparaged local judges and demonstrated his intent to use WomenSV support meetings as a marketing platform for the Hoover Krepelka law firm.
During the pendency of the motion and a media request by the Vanguard, Robert Hoover, James Hoover’s father and founder of the Hoover Krepelka law firm, received a lifetime award from the local bar. The award was presented during a Judge Night dinner, as WomenSV board member and Pro Bono Project Managing Attorney Rachel McKenzie served as President of the local bar family law section.
At the same event, Judge Sunil R. Kulkarni was honored with a Jurist of the Year award. Judge James Towery, exposed by the Vanguard in the BBMP scandal, received a Lifetime Achievement award. Additionally, controversial divorce attorney BJ Fadem was recognized as Professional Lawyer of the Year after years of receiving referrals from WomenSV.
Judge Conflicts of Interest and Failure Assure Fairness in Malpractice Cases
In a strange turn of events on December 4, 2023, the day before Hoover’s arbitration request was scheduled to be heard by Judge Manoukian, Judge Kulkarni was assigned to the malpractice lawsuit. Upon his assignment to the case, Kulkarni promptly denied the Vanguard’s media request. A decision made just two months after Kulkarni received an award from the local bar during a Judge Night dinner sponsored by the Hoover Krepelka law firm.
The media request was denied as Judge Kulkarni had a clear conflict of interest. It is unclear why Judge Kulkarni accepted the assignment when the conflict of interest was clear to any person aware of the facts.
Among the many duties of a judge, the paramount responsibility is to self-recuse when conflicts of interest exist in order to uphold public trust in the legal system. No person aware of the fact that Judge Kulkarni had attended BBMP meetings, and a Judge Night dinner sponsored by the Hoover Krepelka, would believe that Judge Kulkarni could act fairly and impartially in a case where the Hoover Krepelka law firm members were parties in the case.
The culture created by the BBMP over the past thirty years continues to persist in media request denials and in undisclosed conflicts of interest created through local bar events judges attend, as out- of- area attorneys, journalists and self- represented parties are not invited.
