San Francisco, CA – San Francisco DA Candidate Ryan Kjojasteh filed a bar complaint this week against DA Brooke Jenkins – who he is opposing in a reelection bid in November – and Karina Velasquez of StopCrimeSF for what he calls “official misconduct.”
According to release from Khojasteh, “Velasquez violated Rule 8.4(c) by engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, deceit, and potential fraud against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by violating StopCrimeSF’s 501(c)(3) status through supporting a potential candidate and maintaining their tax exemption.”
In addition, he charges, “District Attorney Brooke Jenkins violated Rule 8.4(a) by knowingly assisting Ms. Karina Velasquez in violating these rules.”
StopCrimeSF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that “is prohibited from engaging in partisan political activity.”
According to his complaint, on August 8, 2024, “DA Jenkins posted a video announcing her re-election for District Attorney on Instagram. This video was posted “in collaboration” with StopCrimeSF’s nonprofit Instagram page.”
In addition, he charges, “In addition to the joint video being shared by Brooke Jenkins’ campaign Instagram page and the non-profit Instagram page of StopCrimeSF, Jenkins then tagged StopCrimeSF in her Instagram story to thank them for their support. The violation here could not be clearer. A non-profit is engaging political activity and violating IRS rules, being assisted by the top law enforcement official of San Francisco.”
“Ignorance of the law is no defense, and I personally informed both of them of the relevant rules and regulations last month prior to another violation during StopCrimeSF’s Mayoral Debate. There is no possible excuse for this brazen conduct,” Khojasteh charges.
He noted, “The next day on August 9, I uncovered this video on Instagram. I immediately posted about the violation. Moments later, the video was deleted from both Brooke Jenkins’ Instagram account and StopCrimeSF’s Instagram account.”
He added, “This is consciousness of guilt.”
Khojasteh had previously complained about the awards presentation.
In response to a complaint about the award, Velasquez, also an attorney, noted that a non-profit organization “may invite a candidate to appear at the organization’s event in a non-candidate capacity.”
Velasquez writes, “Stop Crime SF is honoring Brooke Jenkins for her work as the incumbent District Attorney. The timing does not change the nature of the award’s purpose, which is to highlight the importance of reducing crime to the well-being of San Franciscans and also to increase public awareness of Stop Crime SF and its mission.”
She added, “Jenkins is not appearing at this event as a candidate and there will be no campaigning relating to the office of District Attorney.”
She concluded, “while your vigilance in ensuring compliance with non-profit laws is commendable, it is equally important to respect the rights of organizations to recognize the efforts of individuals contributing to their cause, and the rights of all individuals to personal free expression. We believe that the presentation of our first “Crimefighter of the Year” award to District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and her subsequent speech, fall within the bounds of lawful activity for a 501(c)(3) organization.”
In his IRS complaint, Khojasteh, referenced this prior complaint writing, “Given that Ms. Velasquez and DA Jenkins were put on notice of all the relevant rules, what followed was an even more brazen and clear-cut violation of tax-exempt status. The following is the basis for my filing of this complaint with the State Bar of California.”
FROM THE COMPLAINT:
On August 6, 2024, DA Jenkins officially submitted her paperwork for re-election in this November’s District Attorney’s race. DA Jenkins gathered her supporters at City Hall, gave a speech, took photographs, and officially secured her spot on the ballot. This, by all means, was a candidate campaign activity –– and not official government activity in her role as District Attorney.
Two days later on August 8, DA Jenkins posted a video announcing her re-election for District Attorney with footage from her speech and her supporters at the Department of Elections on Instagram. This video was posted “in collaboration” with StopCrimeSF’s nonprofit Instagram page. A new feature on Instagram, “in collaboration” means a joint post. Two accounts are posting a photo or video together as the authors, and both profiles appear at the top.
In addition to the joint video being shared by Brooke Jenkins’ campaign Instagram page and the non-profit Instagram page of StopCrimeSF, Brooke Jenkins’ then tagged StopCrimeSF in her Instagram story to thank them for their support.
The violation here could not be clearer. A non-profit is engaging political activity and violating IRS rules, being assisted by the top law enforcement official of San Francisco.
While we understand that ignorance of the law is no-defense, I personally informed them of the law a month before this violation. There is no possible excuse for this brazen behavior.
The next day on August 9, I uncovered this video on Instagram. I immediately posted the violation on Twitter (now X) and discussed how this violates the law. Moments later, the video was deleted from both Brooke Jenkins’ Instagram account and StopCrimeSF’s Instagram account, including the Instagram Story by Brooke Jenkins thanking StopCrimeSF for their support.
This is consciousness of guilt. To make matters worse, this was not taken seriously at all by the President of StopCrimeSF, Karina Velasquez. In fact, she commented, “Wow, thank you
profession, especially when confronted with a violation of misconduct with an admission of such through the deletion of the video.
As an attorney, I have an obligation under Rule 8.3 to report professional misconduct. We must protect the integrity of the profession and hold everyone accountable under the law.
An addendum to the original IRS complaint was filed with the Internal Revenue Service, bolstering the original complaint that was filed. I now ask the State Bar of California to investigate and appropriately hold accountable both Ms. Velasquez violating Rule 8.4(c) and DA Jenkins for violating Rule 8.4(a)
Khojasteh charges, that DA Jenkins “Jenkins violated Rule 8.4(a) by knowingly assisting Ms. Karina Velasquez in violating these rules. As our top law enforcement official, we should expect at minimum that the DA does not engage in unlawful and unethical behavior.”
Glad to see the this overzealous DA get her hat handed to her.