Amy Knox COO of Harm Reduction Coalition, San Diego charged with embezzlement of $134K after the chief operating officer was brought on board despite having a previous criminal conviction for stealing from another company. Stolen funds were used on luxury lifestyle, paying off credit cards, including plastic surgery while depriving addicted drug users necessary treatment.
How did they miss the clues….? A nonprofit executive is accused of embezzling $132,000 in public money earmarked for treating drug addiction to pay for plastic surgeries, credit card bills and luxury vacations — including a trip to Disneyland.
Amy Knox, 45, who was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego, allegedly used up to $30,000 of the stolen funds on breast implants, a tummy tuck and arm and thigh lifts.
Knox is alleged to have used the nonprofit’s bank account to cover more than $10,200 in San Diego Gas & Electric bills and a further $94,000 on buying purebred dogs, training them, martial arts classes and a trip to Hawaii, prosecutors claim.
Non profit COO deprived drug addicts necessary help to live lavish lifestyle
The alleged fraudster, who also went by the names Amy Hernandez and Amy Ketchum, had been living in a palatial $1.3 million home in Alpine, San Diego, and also owned a second home.
The cash had been earmarked for free anti-overdose medication and fentanyl tests for drug users in the city, raised by tax contributions and philanthropic grants.
Harm Reduction Coalition CEO Tara Stamos-Buesig told the California Post she first noticed Knox’s theft of public funds in May.
She said: ‘She was in the office when she was recovering from her surgeries. I had no idea that she was using the money from the organization pay for it.’
Tip off leads to DA investigation into San Diego fraudster
She then tipped off the DA’s office, which launched its investigation, prompting the county to cancel its contracts.
Stamos-Buesig said her nonprofit has been decimated by the end of the county’s contracts and she has been forced to make layoffs due to the loss of funds.
Knox was arrested last week on six felony counts of fraud and misappropriation and faces up to seven years in prison. During her arraignment, she pleaded not guilty. She remains held on $250,000 bail according to the Voice of San Diego.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan calling Knox a ‘great con-artist’ during a press conference on Wednesday said: ‘It’s sickening that this fraudster decided to line her own pockets, pay for luxury trips and cosmetic plastic surgeries, with these precious, potentially life saving dollars.
‘It is also deeply concerning that the checks and balance and balances that are supposed to safeguard the county’s large budget, and trust funds failed.’
But there were clues.
Previous $500,000 criminal conviction
Knox has a previous conviction for embezzling $500,000 from a prior employer but still had complete control of the Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego’s finances.
Previous court records show Knox, who then worked as chief financial officer at a National City construction company, used company credit cards to make unauthorized purchases and opened credit cards in her name without the owner’s permission. Investigators found the company lost more than $500,000 over three years starting in 2011.
Knox was convicted and sentenced to four years in state prison in 2014 on embezzlement charges.
Of note, Knox’s criminal history didn’t come up during organization’s background checks leading up to her employment with the non-profit. Having gained access to a new company’s finances, Knox abused her position of authority and trust to once again undergo her stealth stealing and self serving behavior.
It was while addressing reporters on Wednesday that the San Diego DA stated a 2023 county audit documented significant financial red flags and staffers learned after a new background check that Knox had been previously convicted of embezzlement of more than $500,000 from a former employer. Yet the county went forward with awarding a second contract to the Harm Reduction Coalition a year later.
Investigators have yet to say how long Knox had been stealing from her new employer.
