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No big secret. Allow a liberal Democrat to hugely
increase spending on their pet human services projects,
and the money will get lost in corruption.

from https://www.kuow.org/stories/secret-payments-damning-audit-king-county-s-youth-violence-prevention-effort-mired-in-scandal

Secret payments, damning audit. King CountyrCOs youth violence prevention effort, mired in scandal
Ann Dornfeld
Amy Radil
December 10, 2024 / 3:50 pm

After Dow Constantine, King County executive, introduced a high-profile initiative to curb youth gun violence, it has been plagued by corruption.
KUOW Illustration/Teo Popescu
In the latest scandal involving a high-profile King County initiative, a county staffer was found to have secretly received $323,000 in payments
in an alleged kickback scheme with a nonprofit leader he knew from prison.

In 2020, in the wake of intense civil rights protests, King County
Executive Dow Constantine made a bold pronouncement: The county would
close its brand-new youth jail. rCLWe can do better,rCY he said.

As part of ConstantinerCOs Zero Youth Detention plan, the county would
give millions to grassroots organizations to work closely with young
people most at risk of gun violence.

This initiative was heralded as a public health approach, with activists leading the response to gun violence in their communities. Outreach
workers would rush to shooting scenes to ward off retaliatory violence.
Others would visit young gunshot victims in the hospital and provide
their families with financial support and services.

RELATED: Why is a convicted sex offender with false credentials running
a King County-funded youth program?

Three years in, corruption has plagued the Regional Peacekeepers
Collective, the coalition of nonprofits awarded roughly $16 million in
county contracts rCLto prevent and eliminate youth gun violence.rCY These ongoing issues raise questions about how the county oversees millions of dollars meant to support and protect primarily Black youth rCo and how it
vets nonprofits that work closely with some of the countyrCOs most
vulnerable young people.

Cracks showed early, when the head of one organization was revealed to
be a twice-convicted sex offender who faked his social work credentials.
(The county admitted that it hadnrCOt run background checks on youth
outreach workers.)

Last year, the former finance director at the lead Peacekeepers
nonprofit was convicted of embezzling nearly $900,000 from the organization.

RELATED: Former exec for Seattle nonprofits pleads guilty to blowing $3 million on casinos, clothes, travel

In the latest revelation, investigators found that a county staffer
secretly received at least $323,000 from an organization that he had recommended as a Peacekeepers subcontractor, and whose outreach work he oversaw.

Amy Radil and Ann Dornfeld discuss the county Peacekeepers program.
Host: Kim Malcolm Guests: KUOW reporters Amy Radil and Ann Dornfeld


In 2023, the Seabold Group, an independent auditor hired to examine the
string of Peacekeepers problems, criticized the countyrCOs selection
process and lax oversight of the nonprofits. Many were new to measuring
and reporting results, the auditor found, and some were suddenly
handling millions of dollars after previously operating on just a few
hundred thousand.

rCLMany of the subcontractors did not have the capabilities, training, or experience necessary to complyrCY with the countyrCOs standard oversight requirements, the Seabold Group said, noting the countyrCOs rCLinfrequency
of site visits and fiscal monitoring.rCY

Sponsored

Executive Constantine repeatedly declined KUOW requests to be
interviewed about the troubles facing the Regional Peacekeepers
Collective. He frequently touts the program as taking a public health
approach to racism and public safety.

rCLWe remain committed to working with responsible stewards and supporting trusted partners in this life-saving work,rCY he said in an emailed
statement last month in lieu of an interview.

PDF Icon
Seabold audit
An outside auditor found minimal King County oversight of the multi-million-dollar Regional Peacekeepers Collective in a Jun. 25, 2023 report.

Download 401 KB -+

Alleged Kickback Scheme

Willard Jimerson Jr., a juvenile justice reform advocate, was a manager
at the Regional Peacekeepers Collective who the county hired in 2020.

Sponsored

Related: King County gave millions to rCyNo Youth JailrCO activists to help kids

Jimerson had mentored young people in the criminal legal system, and collaborated with KUOW in 2018 for stories about why young people carry
guns. Jimerson spoke from experience: At age 13, he was sentenced to
prison for 23 years, one of the youngest children ever tried as an adult
in Washington.

In 2022, the county received an anonymous tip alleging that Jimerson was involved in a kickback scheme with the head of one of the Peacekeepers nonprofits he oversaw. According to the tipster, Jimerson had steered subcontracts to Freedom Project, a Renton-based organization, in
exchange for payments from its executive director, David Heppard.

caption: Will Jimerson Jr. poses for a portrait at Emperado Kajukenbo
Seattle Academy on Thursday, October 25, 2018, in Seattle.
Will Jimerson Jr. poses for a portrait at Emperado Kajukenbo Seattle
Academy on Thursday, October 25, 2018, in Seattle.
KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer
Said the whistleblower, rCLAll this support they are being paid to provide isnrCOt taking place. And King County harbors the dishonest employees.rCY

Sponsored

Jimerson met Heppard at McNeil Island Corrections Center during the two decades they both spent in state prison beginning as teenagers in 1994: Heppard, for rape, witness intimidation, and robbery; Jimerson, for
murdering a 14-year-old girl.

When King County looked into the kickback allegations, Jimerson and
Heppard denied having business ties.

rCLIrCOve never double-dipped, herCOs never paid me, IrCOve never paid him,rCY Jimerson told a county investigator in July 2023, according to interview
notes obtained by KUOW.

But two whistleblowers at Freedom Project contradicted those claims, and
sent internal financial records to the Office of the Ombuds, which investigates allegations of ethics violations by county employees.

According to the investigatorrCOs notes, rCLOne witness indicated they were present during a conversation between Mr. Heppard and Mr. Jimerson when
they discussed their answers to [King CountyrCOs] questions, and that Mr. Jimerson stated he had sent Mr. Heppard a text telling him what to say.rCY

Sponsored

Invoices, checks, and bank statements from Freedom Project showed dozens
of payments from the organization to Jimerson and two businesses he
controlled while he worked on its county contracts. Str8-Up Cleaning,
which was also registered to his girlfriend, received payments for
janitorial services; United Better Thinking, his nonprofit, billed
Freedom Project for staff training, program development and other work.

rCLThe witnesses indicated much of this money was given for services not performed,rCY said the Ombuds report.

At the time, King County had eight contracts with Freedom Project worth
$4.8 million, across multiple departments.

Public corruption is a federal matter, so the Ombuds paused its ethics
probe and notified the King County Council on Oct. 6, 2023, that rCLthe
FBI will be investigating.rCY

Citing policy, FBI and Department of Justice representatives declined to acknowledge or comment on the case.

An attorney for Freedom Project told its liability insurer in a letter
last May that the nonprofit faced expenses related to an FBI
investigation, county investigations and a grand jury subpoena - plus
the discovery that rCLone of the terminated employees deleted thousands of documents and emails.rCY

A Freedom Project spokesperson told KUOW that the organization could not elaborate on the grand jury proceedings, but that they did not concern rCLFreedom Project's operations and finances.rCY

Ombuds Finding

On Sept. 16, the King County Ombuds determined that Jimerson had
violated the employee ethics code by covertly accepting payments from
Freedom Project, and fined him $7,100. Jimerson declined KUOWrCOs
interview request through his attorney.

Jimerson is appealing the finding.

rCLI believe that the investigation did not grant me a fair opportunity to present my evidence,rCY Jimerson wrote in his notice of appeal to the
Board of Ethics.

Before the King County Board of Ethics could review the appeal, however,
it first needed members. There was only one person on the five-seat board.

The Ombuds forwarded the case to the King County ProsecutorrCOs Office
this fall. Patrick Hinds, chief deputy prosecutor for the economic
crimes division, said his unit is reviewing the case for potential
felony theft charges.

King County fired Jimerson one year ago for calling in sick when he was actually in jail and court on suspicion of assault and other charges. He
has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

At Freedom Project, rCLThe board took immediate actionrCY when it learned of the county Ombuds investigation in 2023, a spokesperson said. rCLDavid Heppard, [wife] Yolanda Heppard, and the person managing the
organizational finances during that time are no longer with Freedom Project.rCY

Heppard and 10 former colleagues from Freedom Project quickly created a
new nonprofit, the Black Rose Collective, which also focuses on criminal justice reform and prison reentry, according to its website. This fall,
the Black Rose Collective was announced as one of four local
organizations to share a $1.2 million violence prevention grant from the
U.S. Justice Department.

Heppard did not respond to KUOWrCOs requests for comment.

PDF Icon
Office of Ombuds report
A King County Office of the Ombuds ethics investigation report dated
Sept. 16, 2024 found that a county employee overseeing Regional
Peacekeepers work covertly received payments from one of the nonprofits
he recommended for subcontracts.

Download 286 KB -+

King County Executive Constantine defended the Peacekeepers initiative,
saying by email, rCLThe Regional Peacekeepers Collective has made a significant impact by enrolling over 500 young people in services,
responding to over 400 critical incidents, and supporting families
affected by gun violence.rCY

Constantine added another $7.9 million for the program to his 2025
budget, and said the county has rCLstrengthened oversightrCY by partnering with an experienced nonprofit to oversee the Peacekeeper organizationsrCO
work rCo which still includes Freedom Project.

In the three years since Constantine announced the Regional Peacekeepers Collective, youth gun violence has increased, mirroring a national
trend: This year, there were 49 juvenile shooting victims in King County
by the end of September. The Prosecuting AttorneyrCOs Office called the
number a record high.

Correction 12/14/2024: This story has been updated to reflect King
County's current budget cycle. The county is doing an annual budget for
2025 and will revert to biennial budgets for 2026-2027 and beyond.

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Ann Dornfeld
Reporter
Ann is a reporter on KUOW's Investigations Team. Previously, she covered education stories for KUOW for a decade, with a focus on investigations
into racial and socioeconomic inequities.

More stories from Ann Dornfeld -+
Amy Radil
Amy Radil
Reporter
Amy Radil is a reporter at KUOW covering politics, government and law enforcement, along with the occasional arts story.

More stories from Amy Radil -+


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